Abstract:
A portable telephone is characterized in that it includes a ringing mechanism ( 1 ) including at least one sound element ( 10 ) and at least one actuator member ( 8 ) able to come into mechanical contact with the sound element ( 10 ) so as to make it produce a sound, and electronic elements of control of the ringing mechanism.

Description:
The present invention relates to a mobile telephone. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     “Mobile telephone” is understood to mean any object having a mobile telephony function, such as a mobile telephone itself or a personal digital assistant (PDA). 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Mobile telephones are used by a large proportion of the population and are provided with numerous functionalities. For many years, progress in the miniaturisation of electronic components has allowed the inclusion of a camera, MP3 player, GPS or compact keypad allowing messages to be typed and the Internet to be accessed. 
     As for other electronic devices, owners of mobile telephones are more and more often looking for aesthetic and functional features which suit them. There is thus a tendency among users to want to personalise and customise their mobile telephone by choosing different ring-tones, wallpapers, functionality, colour or design. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention aims to propose a mobile telephone which is surprising and attractive in nature. 
     To this end, there is provided a mobile telephone, characterised in that it comprises:
         a ringing mechanism comprising at least one sounding element and at least one actuating member which is able to come into mechanical contact with the sounding element to cause it to vibrate and to thereby produce a sound, and   electronic means for controlling the ringing mechanism.       

     Therefore, the mobile telephone in accordance with the invention includes a ringing mechanical device or mechanism which can be triggered in particular by an incoming telephone call, the reception of a message or by an alarm function of the telephone. The mobile telephone in accordance with the invention can also comprise a traditional ringing device, with loud-speakers, and can allow the user to choose between one of the two ringing options. 
     Such a ringing mechanism imparts an unexpected, attractive, even ludic character to the mobile telephone both in terms of sound (mechanical ringing produces a different sound than that of loud-speaker ringing) and in terms of aesthetics and appearance (the ringing mechanism can be made visible through a glass on the mobile telephone). 
     Particular embodiments of the invention are defined in the attached dependent Claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Other features and advantages of the invention will become clear upon reading the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a plan view of a mobile telephone with a mechanical ringing device in the closed position in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view showing part of the ringing mechanism of the mobile telephone in accordance with the first embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram showing in particular an electronic part controlling this ringing mechanism; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view of the ringing mechanism used in a mobile telephone in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing in particular an electronic part controlling the ringing mechanism illustrated in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a side plan view of the mobile telephone in accordance with the second embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the mobile telephone in accordance with the second embodiment of the invention, in which in particular a portion of the casing of the telephone has been removed to show the ringing mechanism and a winding mechanism thereof; 
         FIG. 8  is a Figure of the same type as  FIG. 7 , showing a variation of the winding mechanism; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a mobile telephone in accordance with the first or second embodiment using an interchangeable rotating cylinder; 
         FIGS. 10 and 11  are sectional views of a ringing mechanism used in a mobile telephone in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention in two different positions; 
         FIG. 12  is a top plan view of the mechanism shown in  FIGS. 10 and 11 ; and 
         FIG. 13  is a block diagram showing in particular an electronic part controlling the ringing mechanism of the mobile telephone in accordance with the third embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Different embodiments of a mobile telephone including a mechanical ringing device or mechanism controlled by the electronic part of the telephone are described hereinafter. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a mobile telephone in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention comprises, in addition to a traditional loud-speaker ringing device (not shown), a ringing mechanism  1 . This mechanism  1  can be completely or partially visible through a glass  2  which closes an opening  3  formed in the casing  4  of the telephone. In the example shown, the telephone is a folding telephone, i.e., it is formed of two articulated parts  5 ,  6  which can be folded one on the other, the ringing mechanism  1  is formed in the part  6  of these two parts which has the screen, and the glass  2  is mounted in the outer surface of this part  6  opposite the screen such that the mechanism  1  is visible even when the two parts  5 ,  6  are folded together. However, as an alternative, the ringing mechanism  1  could be placed in the other part  5  of the telephone. In other alternatives, the mobile telephone in accordance with the invention could be in two parts sliding with respect to each other, or could be monoblock. 
     The ringing mechanism  1  comprises a cylinder  7  which is rotatable about its axis, hammers  8  mounted so as to pivot about respective axes  9  and extending perpendicularly to the axis of the cylinder  7 , and tubes  10  respectively associated with the hammers  8 . Each hammer  8  comprises a first end  11  close to the surface of the cylinder  7  and a second end  12  close to the respective tube  10 . Each hammer  8  is subjected to the action of a return spring (not shown) which keeps it in a neutral position where the first end  11  does not touch the cylinder  7  and the second end  12  does not touch the respective tube  10 . The tubes  10  have different lengths so that when struck they produce different musical notes by their vibration. The cylinder  7  has protrusions  13  on its surface. When the cylinder  7  rotates and a given protrusion  13  reaches a corresponding hammer  8 , the protrusion  13  contacts the first end  11  of the hammer  8  and bears against it which causes the hammer  8  to pivot against the action of its return spring. During this pivoting movement, the second end  12  of the hammer  8  is raised, i.e., it moves away from the respective tube  10 . Once the protrusion  13  has passed the first end  11  and is no longer in contact therewith, the hammer  8  is then subject only to the action of its return spring. The return spring, in relaxing, causes the hammer  8  to pivot sharply in the opposite direction until the end  12  strikes the respective tube  10  thereby producing a musical note, and then returns the hammer  8  to its neutral position which is close to the tube  10  but out of contact therewith so as to allow the tube  10  to resonate. The arrangement of the protrusions  13  on the surface of the cylinder  7  defines the melody which is played by the mechanism  1  when the cylinder  7  is rotationally driven. At one end of the tubes  10 , small openings  14  protected by a dust filter are formed in the casing  4  of the telephone so as to allow the produced sound to escape. 
     In alternative embodiments, the tubes  10  can be replaced by other gongs or sounding elements such as strips, bells or bent wires of the type found in chiming mechanical watches. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates the control sequence of the ringing mechanism  1 . A microcontroller  15  is connected to the main processor  17  of the telephone, typically by a serial connection  16 , such as an I2C, UART or SPI connection. The microcontroller  15  has an output which is connected to a rotating electric motor  18  via an amplification circuit  19 . The electric motor  18  is mechanically connected to the cylinder  7  so as to rotationally drive it upon command by the microcontroller  15 . 
     Thus, when a telephone call is received by the telephone, the processor  17  commands the microcontroller  15  to trigger the ringing of the mechanism  1  if the user has previously selected this ringing option as the one to be used by the telephone. The microcontroller  15  then actives the motor  18  which starts to rotationally drive the cylinder  7  to play the melody. Once the user has accepted or refused the call via the keypad and the screen of the telephone, the processor  17  commands the microcontroller  15  to stop the ringing. The microcontroller  15  then deactivates the motor  18 . If the user has previously selected the traditional loud-speaker ringing option of the telephone as the one to be used, the processor  17  controls the triggering of this ringing means upon reception of the telephone call and does not involve the microcontroller  15 . 
     In one alternative embodiment, the processor  17  controls the stopping of the ringing of the mechanism  1  and the triggering of the traditional ringing via loud-speak after a predetermined amount of time if the user has still not accepted nor refused the call. This predetermined amount of time can be programmed by the user. 
     The ringing mechanism  1  can also be used, upon command by the processor  17  via the microcontroller  15 , for other functions than that consisting of informing the user of the reception of a telephone call, for example to inform the user of the reception of an SMS message or low battery charge, as an alarm clock ring or to remind the user about an event he has previously programmed in. It is also possible to dedicate the ringing mechanism  1  to one or more functions and to dedicate the traditional ringing device to one or more other functions so that the user can recognise, from the type of ringing he can hear, the type of event triggering the ringing. 
     A mobile telephone in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention comprises, in addition to a traditional loud-speaker ringing device, a ringing mechanism  20  as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . As in the first embodiment, the ringing mechanism  20  comprises a rotating cylinder  21  having protrusions (not shown) on its surface, hammers  22  co-operating with the cylinder  21  and sounding elements  23  such as tubes, strips, bells or bent wires which are actuated by the hammers  22 . Unlike the first embodiment, the rotating cylinder  21  is not driven by an electric motor but by a mechanical spring motor  24 . 
     The mechanical spring motor  24  comprises, in the manner of the driving member of a mechanical watch, a barrel  25  housing a helical motor spring  26 . The barrel  25  is mounted so as to pivot about a shaft  27  to which the inner end of the spring  26  is fixed, the outer end of the spring  26  being fixed to the barrel  25 . The shaft  27  is coaxial with and fixedly attached to a ratchet-wheel  28  which engages with a worm thread of a cylindrical part  29  mounted on a winding rod  30 . A winding crown  30   a  located at the end of the rod  30  and fixedly attached thereto protrudes to outside the casing of the telephone. Rotation of the crown  30   a  in one direction causes the cylindrical part with a worm thread  29  to rotate and thus causes the shaft  27  to rotate in the direction winding the spring  26 . A pawl (not shown) acts on the ratchet-wheel  28  to prevent rotation of the shaft  27  in the other direction. As in traditional watch winding mechanisms, means are provided so that rotation of the crown  30   a  in the direction opposite the stated direction does not rotationally drive the ratchet-wheel  28 . These means (not shown) can comprise first and second pinions mounted on the rod  30 . The first pinion is freely rotatable about the rod  30  and is fixed in rotation with respect to the cylindrical part with a worm thread  29 . The second pinion, called “sliding pinion” is fixed in rotation on the rod  30  but can be translated thereon and is applied against the first pinion by a spring. The first and second pinions have Breguet-type teeth which allow driving of the first pinion by the second pinion only in one direction, i.e., the direction winding the spring  26 . 
     The barrel  25  has peripheral teeth which co-operate with a pinion  31  which is coaxial with and fixedly attached to the cylinder  21  via a gear train  32 . When the spring  26  is relieved or allowed to relax, this causes the barrel  25  to rotate and thus rotationally drives the cylinder  21  via the gear train  32  and the pinion  31 . In the illustrated example, the gear train  32  comprises a wheel  33  which engages with the barrel  25 , a first pinion  34  which is coaxial with and fixedly attached to the wheel  33 , a second pinion  35  which engages with the first pinion  34 , a third pinion  36  which engages with the second pinion  35  and a fourth pinion  37  which engages with the third pinion  36  and with the pinion  31 , forming a bevel gear with the latter. 
     The spring  26  is wound manually using the crown  30   a , but the activation and deactivation of the mechanical spring motor  24  are controlled by the electronic part of the telephone. To this end there is used an electromechanical member comprising for example a bistable electromagnet  38  comprising a fixed part or stator  39  and a part  40  which can move in translation in the fixed part  39  and a pivoting blocking piece  41  mechanically linked to the mobile part  40  of the electromagnet  38 . The electromagnet  38  is controlled, via an electronic amplification circuit  42 , by a microcontroller  43  connected to the main processor  44  of the telephone by a serial connection  45  (cf.  FIG. 5 ). The mobile part  40  of the electromagnet  38  can be in two stable positions in which the electromagnet  38  does not consume energy. The pivoting piece  41  has a first end  46  connected to the mobile part  40  of the electromagnet  38  and a second end  47  forming a finger able to be inserted between two consecutive teeth of the wheel  33 . In one of its stable positions, the mobile part  40  keeps the piece  41  in an angular position where the finger  47  is outside the teeth of the wheel  33 . In this position, the barrel  25 , the gear train  32  and the cylinder  21  rotate under the action of the spring  26  which relaxes, which actuates the hammers  22  and causes them to strike the sounding elements  23  to play the melody defined by the protrusions located on the surface of the cylinder  21 . In its other stable position, the mobile part  40  keeps the piece  41  in an angular position where the finger  47  is inserted between two consecutive teeth of the wheel  33 . Thus, the barrel  25 , the gear train  32  and the cylinder  21  can no longer be rotated. The ringing means is deactivated. As an alternative, the piece  41  could co-operate with another set of teeth than those on the wheel  33  to block or release the barrel  25 , the gear train  32  and the cylinder  21 , e.g., the teeth of the barrel  25 . 
     It will be noted that the ringing mechanism illustrated in  FIG. 4  needs electrical energy only to cause the electromagnet  38  to pass from one stable position to the other. The energy required to cause the mechanism to ring is in fact provided by the spring  26 . This embodiment of the invention is therefore economical in terms of electrical energy, in other words it draws less on the battery of the telephone. 
     The winding crown  30   a  can be replaced by a ferrule which is fixedly attached to the winding rod  30  and is provided with a recess, e.g., a hexagon socket recess. In this case, the spring  26  is wound using a key adapted to the recess. The winding crown  30   a  can also comprise such a recess to allow its actuation with or without a key. 
     In accordance with another feature of the invention, the mobile telephone in accordance with this second embodiment comprises a mechanism allowing the spring  26  to be wound in a manner other than by the manual actuation of the winding crown  30   a  or of the said ferrule, i.e., by an action constituting use of the telephone. In the international patent application no. PCT/FR2008/051554 by the present Applicant, mechanisms are described which allow a motor spring of a mechanical watch provided in a telephone to be wound by an action constituting use of the telephone, e.g., opening the telephone in the case of a telephone in two mutually hinged or sliding parts, pressing a button, etc. Such winding mechanisms can be used in the present invention to wind the spring  26 . 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  show an example of such a winding mechanism which can be provided in the telephone in accordance with the second embodiment, in the case where this telephone is formed of two parts  48 ,  49  which are articulated together via a hinge  50 . The ringing mechanism  20  is housed in the part  48  comprising the keypad of the telephone. The winding crown  30   a  protrudes on one of the sides of the part  48 , as shown in  FIG. 6 . A pinion  51  mounted on the winding rod  30  and fixedly attached thereto engages, via a pinion train  52 , with a pinion  53  which is coaxial with and fixedly attached to the spindle  54  of the hinge  50 , which spindle  54  is fixedly attached to the part  49 . Thus, when the user closes the telephone, the pivoting of the part  49  with respect to the part  48  causes the pinion  53  and, via the pinion train  52  and the pinion  51 , the winding rod  30  to rotate in the direction winding the spring  26 . When the user opens the telephone, the sliding pinion device mounted on the winding rod  30  as described above prevents the rod  30  from driving the ratchet-wheel  28 . Of course, the winding direction could be reversed, i.e., provision could be made for the spring  26  to be wound by the opening of the telephone. 
     Another example of the winding mechanism of the spring  26  which can be provided in the telephone in accordance with the second embodiment is shown in  FIG. 8 . In this example, the winding rod  30  is connected to the spindle  54  of the hinge  50  not by a gear train but by a belt  55  co-operating with pulleys  56 ,  57  fixedly attached respectively to the winding rod  30  and the hinge spindle  54 . 
     In the case of a mobile telephone consisting of two mutually sliding parts, the part which does not have the ringing mechanism can comprise a rack which meshes directly, or indirectly via a gear train, with a pinion which is coaxial with and fixedly attached to the winding rod  30  to wind the spring  26  upon opening or closing the telephone. 
     As an alternative to the winding mechanisms described above, the mobile telephone in accordance with the second embodiment can comprise an automatic winding mechanism with an oscillating mass of the type provided in automatic mechanical watches, and which would use the movements of the mobile telephone to cause the barrel shaft  27  to rotate in the direction winding the spring  26 . 
     As in the first embodiment, the ringing mechanism  20  can be used for various functions, i.e., in particular to inform the user of the reception of a telephone call or a message, to inform the user of a low battery charge, as an alarm clock ring or to remind the user about an event. In the first function, provision can be made that the processor  44  controls the stopping of the ringing of the mechanism  20  and the triggering of the traditional loud-speaker ringing after a predetermined amount of time if the user has still not accepted nor refused the call. This predetermined amount of time can be programmed by the user. 
     Moreover, with reference to  FIG. 5 , a torque sensor  58  can be provided which determines if the tension of the spring  26  is sufficient to cause the ringing mechanism  20  to operate. If the spring  26  is not sufficiently wound, the microcontroller  43 , which receives at one of its inputs the tension state measured by the torque sensor  58 , does not activate the ringing mechanism  20  and imparts this information to the processor  44  which then controls the triggering of the traditional ringing. 
     In accordance with an advantageous variation of the invention, the cylinder  7  of the first embodiment—or the cylinder  21  of the second embodiment—is interchangeable, i.e., the user can replace it with another cylinder whose protrusions are arranged in a different manner to produced a different melody. To this end, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the casing of the telephone defines a housing  59  for the cylinder, designated here by the reference numeral  60 . The housing  59  can be accessed via an opening  61  formed in the casing. The opening  61  can be closed or opened by a mobile piece  62  articulated to the casing via a hinge  63 . The cylinder  60  has a central longitudinal bore  64  and an inner longitudinal groove  65  which opens into the bore  64 . At a first end of the cylinder  60 , the bore  64  is intended to receive a drive spindle, i.e., the spindle of the motor  18  in the first embodiment and the spindle of the pinion  31  in the second embodiment. This drive spindle comprises a rib which co-operates with the groove  65  to render the cylinder  60  rotationally fixed to said spindle. At the second end of the cylinder  60 , the bore  64  is intended to receive a support and guiding lug  66  protruding on the inner surface of the mobile piece  62  and aligned with the drive spindle. The cylinder  60  is held in its axial position at its first end by a flange  67  and at its second end by the piece  62  (cf.  FIG. 7 ). The mobile piece  62  can be held in the closed position for example by a ball detent or by a screw. 
     In this mode of assembly, the cylinder  60  can easily be removed by the user who only has to open the piece  62  and slide the cylinder  60  axially out of its housing  59  through the opening  61 . Placing another cylinder in the housing  59  is just as easy. 
     In alternatives of the first and second embodiments, the hammers  8 ,  22  can be omitted and the sounding elements  10 ,  23  can be in the form of vibrating strips actuated directly by the protrusions on the surface of the cylinder  7 ,  21 . 
     A mobile telephone in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention comprises, in addition to a traditional loud-speaker ringing device, a ringing mechanism  68  as partially illustrated in  FIGS. 10 to 13 . This mechanism  68  comprises one or more sounding units each comprising an electromagnet  70 , a pivoting hammer  71  and a sounding element  72  such as a tube, strip, bell or bent wire. The hammer  71  is subjected to the action of a spring  73  which, when the electromagnet  70  is not energised, keeps it in a neutral position where the ends of the hammer  71  do not contact the electromagnet  70  nor the sounding element  72  ( FIG. 10 ). At least one end  74  of the hammer  71  is formed of a magnetisable material such as a ferrous material. When the electromagnet  70  is energised, it attracts the end  74  of the hammer  71  which causes it to pivot such that its other end  75  strikes the sounding element  72  ( FIG. 11 ). In practice, the electromagnet  70  is controlled by electric pulses. At each pulse, the hammer  71  strikes the sounding element  72  and then immediately returns to its neutral position under the action of the spring  73  to allow the sounding element  72  to resonate. If the mechanism  68  has several sounding units with sounding elements  72  of different lengths, then melodies can be played by sending predetermined sequences of electric pulses to the electromagnets  70 . 
       FIG. 13  shows the electronic part for controlling the ringing mechanism  68 . This electronic part comprises the main processor  76  of the telephone, a microcontroller  77  connected to the main processor  76  and amplification circuits  78  connected to respective outputs of the microcontroller  77 . Each electromagnet  70  of the mechanism is connected to an output of a respective amplification circuit  78  and is thus controlled, via this amplification circuit  78 , by the microcontroller  77 . 
     This ringing mechanism  68  can be used for the same functions as those of the first and second embodiments.