Patent ID: 8170628

Claim:
A telephone communication device for telephone communication of a user thereof with the other party, comprising: a housing; a sound generating portion having a sound output aperture provided at the housing and configured to generate a voice received from the other party such that the voice is emitted from the sound output aperture with an adjustable sound output level; a sound receiving portion having a sound input aperture provided at the housing and configured to receive through the sound input aperture a voice to be transmitted to the other party, such that the voice is received with an adjustable sound input level; a detecting portion configured to detect a state of approach or contact of a region of the housing between said sound output aperture and said sound input aperture, to or with a face of the user, during the telephone communication of the user with the other party; a reference-state memory, portion for storing a reference approach-contact state, which is the state of approach or contact of said region detected in a reference state of said approach or contact of the region of the housing, said reference state being one of the states of approach or contact of the region detected by said detecting portion; a state-change obtaining portion configured to obtain a change of the state of approach or contact of said region detected by the detecting portion, with respect to said reference approach-contact state stored in the reference-state memory portion; an adjustment-amount determining portion configured to determine an amount of adjustment of the sound output level of the sound generating portion and an amount of adjustment of the sound input level of the sound receiving portion, according to the change of said state obtained by the state-change obtaining portion; and a control portion configured to command the adjustment-amount determining portion, when the change of said state is obtained by the state-change obtaining portion, to determine the amount of adjustment of the sound output level of the sound generating portion and the amount of adjustment of the sound input level of the sound receiving portion, said control portion adjusting said sound output level and said sound input level according to the determined amounts of adjustment.