Patent Publication Number: US-2013243217-A1

Title: Communication device with combined electrical socket and microphone opening

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates to a communication device, e.g. a headset, comprising a housing with a housing wall encapsulating a housing interior, a microphone arranged in the housing interior and communicating via an audio passage with the outside of the housing, an electrical socket adapted to receive an electrical plug through a socket opening, which is accessible from the outside of the housing. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Headsets and other compact communication devices like the one according to the preamble of claim  1  are typically used in connection with telecommunication or audio listening. Modern headsets are small compact units with a small surface area leaving only a little space for arranging switches, buttons, electrical sockets, microphone openings etc. Thus, it can be a challenge to design a modern compact headset with an aesthetical appearance. Wireless headsets, such as DECT office headsets or Bluetooth headsets used with cell phones, need frequent recharging. They are therefore provided with a charging socket or external contacts. It is most usual that small Bluetooth headsets have a charging socket, into which an electrical plug connected to a charger, can be inserted. Headsets provided with external contacts are typically recharged by being placed in a charging cradle with corresponding charging contacts. Small Bluetooth headsets, such as JABRA JX10 are, due to space limitations, mostly provided with the charging socket in the end face that lies opposite the end with the microphone. Modern headsets can also be provided with electrical sockets for purposes other than charging, for example for receiving and sending data signals or even audio signals. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the invention is to propose an improved way of arranging components in a communication device in order to obtain advantages regarding size and design. 
     The communication device according to the invention is characterised in that the audio passage comprises the socket opening. As the socket opening is utilized for leading sound from the surroundings to the microphone, which is arranged in the interior of the housing, there is no need for a separate opening in the housing wall for the microphone. Thus, essentially all or at least the main part of the sound reaching the microphone, travels via the socket opening. This means more freedom in designing the outer appearance of the communication device. 
     According to a preferred embodiment, communication device is formed by a headset. The invention is particularly useful when used with headsets, as these are getting smaller and smaller. 
     According to an embodiment, the housing comprises a first end face and a second end face, where the electrical socket is arranged in the first end face and the speaker opening is arranged closer to the second end face than the first end face. 
     According to a preferred embodiment, the headset comprises a cradle with a cradle bottom and a recess adapted to receive the headset housing and extending between an upper end and a recess bottom, the recess bottom lying closer to the cradle bottom than the upper end of the recess, where the recess bottom comprises an electrical plug adapted to the electrical socket, so that the electrical plug is inserted in the electrical socket when the headset housing is received by the recess. With such a solution the end of the headset body comprising the socket is pointing downwards when the headset is mounted on the head of a user and when it is placed in its cradle. This means that any information given on the outside of the headset housing, e.g. the brand of the headset, display information, etc., is oriented essentially in the same direction in both situations. 
     According to an embodiment, the socket comprises a socket casing, which surrounds the socket opening and which at least partly extends in the insertion direction of the electrical plug. 
     The socket casing may comprise one or more through-going holes, which form a part of the audio passage. 
     Preferably, the microphone is arranged in a microphone boot, which abuts the socket casing and has a sound opening, wherein the sound opening faces the socket casing, so that it communicates with the through-going holes in the socket casing. This is a simple way of arranging the microphone in relation to the socket. 
     According to an embodiment, the headset comprises an electrical plug, which is adapted to be removeably inserted in the electrical socket, and which is provided with one or more latching protrusions, which are adapted to be received in the through-going holes in the socket casing, when the electrical plug is inserted in the electrical socket. Thus, the through-going holes are utilized for two different purposes. 
     As an alternative, the headset comprises an electrical plug, which is adapted to be removeably inserted in the electrical socket, and which is provided with one or more recesses, and where the through-going holes in the socket casing partly surround locking tongues with protrusions, which are adapted to be received in the recesses in the electrical plug, when the latter is inserted in the electrical socket. 
     The headset may be a wireless headset and the electrical socket being adapted to be used for charging the headset. 
     The electrical socket is preferably a USB-receptacle, preferably a micro-USB receptacle. 
     According to the invention, the communication device may further comprise a sound tube device with a first end and a second end, where the sound tube device at the first end comprises a sound plug, which is adapted to be detachable inserted in the socket opening, and at the second end comprises a sound tube opening, and wherein the interior of the sound tube device forms a part of the audio passage. This sound tube device can be used for improving the signal to noise ratio by placing the sound tube opening closer to the mouth of the user than the socket opening. 
     The sound tube device may comprise a deformable sound tube, so that it can be manipulated to point in a desired direction. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention is explained in detail below with reference to the drawing illustrating preferred embodiments of the invention and in which 
         FIG. 1  is a rear view of a preferred embodiment of a headset according to the invention, 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the headset of  FIG. 1 , 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic end view of a headset according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in  FIG. 3 , 
         FIG. 5  is a side view of a plug for insertion into the socket of the headset according to the invention, 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of the plug shown in  FIG. 5 , 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a headset according to an embodiment comprising a cradle, and 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view through the headset with a sound tube. 
     
    
    
     The following reference signs are used in the figures and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 1 
                 headset 
               
               
                 2 
                 headset housing 
               
               
                 3 
                 housing wall 
               
               
                 4 
                 housing interior 
               
               
                 5 
                 microphone 
               
               
                 6 
                 electrical socket 
               
               
                 7 
                 electrical plug 
               
               
                 8 
                 socket opening 
               
               
                 9 
                 audio passage 
               
               
                 10 
                 socket casing (shield) 
               
               
                 11 
                 microphone boot 
               
               
                 12 
                 sound opening 
               
               
                 13 
                 through-going hole 
               
               
                 14 
                 microphone wire 
               
               
                 15 
                 first wall of plug casing 
               
               
                 16 
                 printed circuit board 
               
               
                 17 
                 terminal base 
               
               
                 18 
                 contacts 
               
               
                 19 
                 earbud 
               
               
                 20 
                 earhook 
               
               
                 21 
                 button 
               
               
                 22 
                 LED (light emitting diode) 
               
               
                 23 
                 earbud stem 
               
               
                 24 
                 speaker opening 
               
               
                 25 
                 second wall of plug casing 
               
               
                 26 
                 plug housing 
               
               
                 27 
                 plug casing 
               
               
                 28 
                 latching member 
               
               
                 29 
                 slot 
               
               
                 30 
                 latching protrusion 
               
               
                 31 
                 insertion direction of electrical plug 
               
               
                 32 
                 first end face of headset housing 
               
               
                 33 
                 second end face of headset housing 
               
               
                 34 
                 first wall of headset housing 
               
               
                 35 
                 second wall of headset housing 
               
               
                 36 
                 sidewalls of headset housing 
               
               
                 37 
                 first wall of socket casing 
               
               
                 38 
                 second wall of socket casing 
               
               
                 39 
                 microphone receiving hole 
               
               
                 40 
                 connecting hole 
               
               
                 41 
                 front chamber 
               
               
                 42 
                 interior of electrical socket 
               
               
                 43 
                 cradle 
               
               
                 44 
                 cradle bottom 
               
               
                 45 
                 recess 
               
               
                 46 
                 upper end of recess 
               
               
                 47 
                 recess bottom 
               
               
                 48 
                 recess plug 
               
               
                 49 
                 sound tube device 
               
               
                 50 
                 sound tube 
               
               
                 51 
                 sound tube opening 
               
               
                 52 
                 sound plug 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  disclose a headset  1  according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The headset is a wireless headset to be used with mobile phones. The headset  1  comprises a housing  2  with a first end face  32 , a second end face  33 , a first wall  34  facing the ear of the user during use and a second wall  35  facing away from the ear during use. Two sidewalls  36  connect the first wall  34  and the second wall  35 . Close to the second end face  33 , the first wall  34  comprises a protruding earbud stem  23  with an earbud  19  to be inserted into the concha of a user&#39;s ear. A speaker is arranged inside the earbud, and during use, sound emanates from a speaker opening  24  in the earbud. An earhook  20  is mounted to the earbud stem  23 . During use, the earhook  20  is positioned behind the pinna of the ear and hereby the earbud  19  can be held against the auditory canal of the user&#39;s ear. Buttons  21  for operating the headset are arranged on the sidewalls  36  and the second end face  33 . A LED (light emitting diode) is a part of the user interface and lightens up or flashes depending on the status of the headset (e.g. “incoming call”, “standby mode”, “low battery”). The first end face  32  of the housing  2  is provided with an electrical socket  6 , which is described in more detail below. 
       FIG. 3  discloses in a schematic form the second end face  32  of the housing  2 . The socket  6  is a socket or receptacle according to the micro-USB standard. It comprises a socket casing  10  or shield of metal and a terminal base  17  with contacts  18 . Indicated with dashed lines, a microphone boot  11  is arranged inside the housing next to the socket  6 . 
       FIG. 4  discloses a sectional view along the line IV-IV in  FIG. 3 . The view is schematic and discloses the mutual placements of the PCB (printed circuit board)  16 , the micro-USB socket  6  and the microphone boot  11 . The socket  6  is mounted with a first wall  37  of the casing  6  facing the PCB  16 . An opposite, parallel second wall  38  of the socket casing  6  faces the microphone boot  11 . The microphone boot  11  is an enclosure made of rubber-like or other material enclosing a microphone  5 . The purpose of the microphone boot  11  is to minimize the amount of sound, especially from the speaker, entering from within the headset housing. The microphone boot  11  has a microphone receiving hole  39 , a connecting hole  40  and a front chamber  41 . A sound opening  12  of the front chamber  41  faces an area of the second wall  38  comprising two through-going holes  13 . The interior  42  of the socket  6  communicates via the holes  13  with the front chamber  41  and the surroundings via the socket opening  8 . Thus, there is an audio passage  9  from the surroundings to the microphone via the socket opening  8 , the socket interior  42 , the through-going holes  13 , the front chamber  41  and the connection hole  40 . Thus, there is no need for a separate microphone opening in the housing wall  3  of the headset housing  2 . 
       FIGS. 5 and 6  disclose a micro-USB plug  7  for insertion into the micro-USB socket  6 . The plug  7  can be used for recharging the wireless headset  1 . The plug  7  comprises a plug housing  26  and a protruding plug casing  27 . Inside the plug casing  27 , the plug  7  comprises a terminal base (not shown), which is adapted to be connected with the terminal base  17 , when the plug  7  is inserted in the socket  6 . The cross-section of the plug casing  27  corresponds to the cross-section of the socket  6 . The plug casing  27  is of metal and comprises a first wall  15  and a second wall  25 . The second wall  25  abuts the inside of the second wall  38 , when the plug  7  is inserted in the socket  6 . The second wall  25  of the plug casing  27  comprises two longitudinal slots  29  in which flexible latching members  28  extend. Each latching member  28  has a free end close to the free end of the plug casing  27 . At it&#39;s free end, each latching member  28  has a latching protrusion  30  that protrudes above the outer surface of the second wall  25  of the plug casing  27 . These protrusions  30  are adapted to engage the through-going holes  13  in the socket casing  10  when the plug  7  is inserted. Thus, during insertion of the plug  7  the protrusions flex inwards. When the plug  7  is fully inserted in the socket  6 , the protrusions  30  flex outwards again and into the through-going holes  13 . This reduces the risk of unintentional unplugging. Thus, the through-going holes  13  serve two purposes: to prevent unintentional unplugging and to provide an audio passage from the surroundings to the microphone  5 . 
     In the shown embodiment, the plug  7  comprises the latching members  28  with protrusions  30 . Alternatively, longitudinal slots  29  with latching members  28  with protrusions  30  could be provided in the socket casing  10 . In this case, the longitudinal slots  29  would provide communication between the interior  42  of the socket  6  and the sound opening  12  of the microphone boot  11 . In addition, the number of latching members  28  could be only one or more than two. 
     The main purpose of the electrical socket  6  is to enable recharging of the battery of the wireless headset. However, the socket could also be utilized for data transfer, e.g. for upgrading the software of the headset or pairing the headset with a cell phone. In addition, the socket could be utilized for audio signals. Thus, the user could connect the headset to a computer and listen to music while the headset is recharging. The socket could also be used to stream a stereo signal to a second headset to be worn on the other ear. 
       FIG. 7  discloses an embodiment of the headset comprising a cradle  43 . The cradle  43  comprises a bottom  44  by means of which it can rest on a tabletop or the like. A recess  45  extends from an upper end  46  in the direction of the bottom  44  to a recess bottom  47 . An electrical plug  48  is arranged in the recess bottom  47 . The recess  45  is adapted to receive the headset housing  2  so that the electrical plug  48  is inserted in the electrical socket  6 , when the headset housing  2  is received by the recess  45 . The cradle  43  can be used for different purposes, for example recharging, updating of the headset software, synchronizing data in the headset housing with data in a computer, personal digital assistant, cell phone or the like. Due to the placement of the socket in the microphone end of the headset body, the same end of the headset body points downwards when worn by a user and when placed in the cradle. This can be an advantage as printed information on the front of the headset body, where the bottom of e.g. letters or numbers are pointing at the microphone end, are easy to read by others during use and when the headset is placed in the cradle. 
       FIG. 8  discloses an embodiment of a headset comprising a detachable sound tube device  49 . The sound tube device  49  comprises a hollow sound plug  52 , which is adapted to be inserted in the electrical socket  6  through the socket opening. A sound tube  50  extends form the sound plug  52  to a sound tube opening  51 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the audio passage  9  extend from the surroundings via the sound tube opening  51 , through the sound tube  50 , the sound plug  49 , socket interior  42  and to the microphone as explained in connection with  FIG. 4 . The sound tube  50  may be deformable and extendible, so that the sound opening  51  can be arranged optimal in relation to the user&#39;s mouth. The sound tube device  49  can be provided with not shown means for acoustic impedance matching of the transmitted sound. 
     In the disclosed embodiment, the communication device is a headset. However, the invention could also be utilized with other communication devices such as a telephone, a PDA (personal digital assistant, a dictating apparatus or any other device comprising an electrical socket and a microphone. 
     A further advantage of the invention is that the communication device can be easier to protect in dirty or wet environments, as access to the housing interior via the electrical plug and the microphone can be sealed off by only one protecting plug. 
     The socket and plug of the disclosed embodiment is following the micro-USB standard. However, this is just an example. Completely different socket and plug types or standards could be used. 
     According to the disclosed embodiment, the electrical socket and the microphone are arranged close to each other. However, the microphone could also be arranged at a distance from the socket such that a sound channel or sound tube connects the microphone and the socket. 
     The term “audio passage” should be interpreted as a path along which sound waves can travel without significant resistance. Thus, the audio passage is not necessarily a path that air can travel through without resistance. As such, wind filters of fabric or porous material can be provided in the audio passage. 
     Throughout the application, the term “socket” has been used. This term could be replaced by the term “receptacle”. 
     In addition, the term “casing” could be replaced by other terms having essentially the same meaning, such as “surrounding part”, “frame”, “shroud”, etc.