TELEPHONE INCLUDING AN ACCESSORY FOR THE HARD OF HEARING

Abstract: The telephone includes an assembly (2 or 6 or 7) formed by a coupling coil and a connecting cord connected to the base or to the handset and directly connected to the loudspeaker wires or to means for producing the loudspeaker signal, in the base or in the handset. This coupling coil (3) is intended to be inserted near to a receiving coil incorporated in a hearing aid.

Description: Telephone including an accessory for the hard of hearing The present invention relates to a telephone comprising a loudspeaker and means for supplying a loudspeaker signal to the loudspeaker, formed by a coupling coil connected to means for producing a loudspeaker signal and intended for inducing a magnetic field in a receiving coil incorporated in a hearing aid. Such a telephone is intended for persons who are hard of hearing. A telephone comprising a loudspeaker which includes a coupling coil is known from the document DE-PS 42 11 147. According to this document, a telephone has a second loudspeaker which comprises an acoustic diaphragm case, of which a sound opening is intended to be placed opposite a user's auditory meatus, and a coupling coil situated concentrically relative to the acoustic diaphragm case and the sound opening. This device is intended for the user of a hearing aid of the "intra" type, that is, inserted into the auditory meatus. A hearing aid called "ear contour", that is, of which the microphone is to be placed behind the ear, often has a receiving coil which can be connected as a receiver element in the place of the acoustic microphone by means of a switching device at the disposal of a user. It is an object of the invention to permit the user of such a hearing aid to use his hearing aid most effectively and most conveniently when listening to the telephone. For this purpose, the coupling coil is installed in a casing, separate from that of the loudspeaker and having an independent cord that has connector means to the means for producing a loudspeaker signal. The invention is thus based on the recognition to connect a casing to the telephone, which casing contains only a coupling coil which makes it possible to listen by a purely inductive link. As a result, the casing is very small, easy to handle and can be placed directly between the user's head and a hearing aid of the ear contour type, against the latter. In a particular embodiment in which the telephone has two conductors which carry the loudspeaker signal, the connecting cord of the coil is connected directly to the conductors of the telephone loudspeaker. Such a branching has the advantage of being particularly simple. When the telephone comprises a base and a handset, the cord of the coupling coil is preferably connected to the loudspeaker signal producing means in the base. Thus, the handset can be used independently of the coil by a person who hears in normal fashion. The telephone which is either of the type called monoblock in which a handset forms a complete telephone, or of the type called cordless in which a base station is connected to the handset by radio, the cord of the coupling coil is connected to the loudspeaker signal producing means preferably in the handset. A telephone comprising a loudspeaker and means for supplying a loudspeaker signal to the loudspeaker is characterized in that it has a connector whose terminals are connected to loudspeaker signal producing means. This connector makes it possible to connect a wire running to a coupling coil which is intended to induce a magnetic field in a receiving coil incoφorated in a hearing aid. When the telephone comprises a base and a handset, the connector is preferably installed in the base. When the telephone is of the monoblock type, in which a handset constitutes a complete telephone, or of the cordless type in which a base is connected to a handset by radio, the connector is preferably installed in the handset. These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter. In the drawings: Fig. 1 represents several variants for installing a coupling coil in a telephone; and Fig. 2 diagrammatically shows the branching of a coupling coil in a telephone circuit. The telephone shown in Fig. 1 comprises: - a handset 22 which has a loudspeaker grid 21 and a microphone grid 20, and - a base 1 with dialling keys 23, function keys 25, a cradle 26 for the handset, and a wire connected to a terminal 24 for connection to a telephone line. The handset may be connected to the base by a cord 14 which comprises, for example, loudspeaker conductors for connecting the loudspeaker to the base. The cord 14 could be absent, the link between the base and the handset then being effected by radio. In that case, the loudspeaker conductors are nevertheless present in the handset. The base 1, here connected to the handset by a wire 14, has an assembly 2 formed by a coupling coil 3 and a connecting cord 5 which penetrates into the base and is connected to the loudspeaker conductors inside the base. This coupling coil is intended to be placed near to a receiving coil incoφorated in a hearing aid of the ear contour type. A clip 4 makes it possible to fasten this hearing aid behind the ear beside the hearing aid. Instead of the telephone being permanently fitted out with a coupling coil, it may have a connector 29 specially provided for the connection of a coupling coil. In that case, the coupling coil is provided in the form of an accessory 7 which comprises the coupling coil and a cord ending in a connector 30 intended to be connected to the loudspeaker connector 29 of the telephone. In another variant which is not shown for simplicity of the Figure, the handset 22 could have keys 23 and 25 and have a wire and terminal 24, thus forming a complete telephone of the monoblock type without the base 1. In that case and also in the case where the base is connected to the handset by radio, the cord of the coupling coil is connected to the loudspeaker conductors of the handset as represented at 6. The cord could directly go into the handset and also be connected by means of a miniature connector 27. Furthermore, the connectors 27 or 29 also make it possible to connect a terminal 16 of a cable permitting the link to the audio input of a hearing aid, via a connector shoe 12. It is clear that if various assemblies are shown at 2, 6, 7 around the same telephone, this is to illustrate several variants, but a given user uses only a single one of these assemblies at the time. The simplified diagram of Fig. 2 corresponds to a well-known telephone. Starting from the right of the Figure, the telephone line 10A, 10B arrives at the cradle switch 15, then at a pulse dialling circuit 11 and finally at an audio processing circuit 13. These elements are situated in the base, indicated by a frame 1. The audio processing circuit 13 feeds the handset 8 by two loudspeaker conductors 17, 18. The microphone 9 is also connected to this circuit 13. The loudspeaker and the microphone are situated in the handset indicated by a frame 22. To the loudspeaker conductors 17, 18 is connected the cord 5 of the coupling coil 3, directly or via a connector 30. The connector can also be placed in the handset as indicated by reference 27, notably when the telephone is of the monoblock type or of the cordless type. Of course, the two connectors represented as 27 and 28 are intended to illustrate two variants, but a single connector generally suffices. Furthermore, the base 1 and the handset 22 can be combined to a single block in the case of a monoblock telephone. An integrated electronic circuit known per se, indicated by a frame 19, can execute the functions 11 and 13 symbolized inside the frame. Instead of being directly connected to the loudspeaker wires 17, 18, the. signal intended for the coupling coil can be derived at any other suitable point of the circuit 19.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A telephone comprising a loudspeaker and means for supplying a loudspeaker signal to the loudspeaker, formed by a coupling coil connected to means for producing a loudspeaker signal and intended for inducing a magnetic field in a receiving coil incoφorated in a hearing aid, characterized in that the coupling coil is installed in a casing, separate from that of the loudspeaker and having an independent cord that has connector means to the means for producing a loudspeaker signal. 2. A telephone as claimed in Claim 1 , having two conductors which carry the loudspeaker signal, characterized in that the connecting cord of the coil is connected directly to the conductors of the telephone loudspeaker. 3. A telephone as claimed in one of the Claims 1 or 2, comprising a base and a handset, characterized in that the cord of the coupling coil is connected to the loudspeaker signal producing means in the base. 4. A telephone as claimed in one of the Claims 1 or 2, either of the monoblock type in which a handset forms a complete telephone, or of the cordless type in which a base is connected to the handset by radio, characterized in that the cord of the coupling coil is connected to the loudspeaker signal producing means in the handset. 5. A telephone comprising a loudspeaker and a means for supplying a loudspeaker signal to the loudspeaker, characterized in that it includes a connector whose pins are connected to the loudspeaker signal producing means. 6. A telephone as claimed in Claim 5, comprising a base and a handset, characterized in that the connector is installed in the base. 7. A telephone as claimed in Claim 5, of the monoblock type, in which a handset forms a complete telephone or of the cordless type in which a base is connected to a handset by radio, characterized in that the connector is installed in the handset.

Inventors: CHARTIER OLIVIER, CHARTIER, OLIVIER
Applicants: CHARTIER OLIVIER, PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NV, CHARTIER, OLIVIER, PHILIPS ELECTRONICS N.V.
Application year: 1997
Main classification: H04M1
IPC codes: H04M1