Patent ID: 7796773

Claim:
A hand-held communication device comprising: a loudspeaker to generate and deliver sound, in an against-the-ear mode, into a space bounded by an ear and, in an away-from-the-ear mode, into an acoustic free space a hand-held housing that includes a sound-collecting chamber that encloses at least a portion of the loudspeaker, a first housing region to convey, in the against-the-ear mode, the sound generated by the loudspeaker into the acoustic free space without being blocked by the ear, a second housing region, that does not comprise the first housing region, to convey the sound generated by the loudspeaker in the against-the-ear mode to the space bounded by the ear, a sound-delivery chamber to convey the sound generated by the loudspeaker, in the away-from-the-ear mode, through the first housing region into the acoustic free space, the sound-delivery chamber to amplify the sound conveyed into the acoustic free space relative to the sound conveyed into the space bounded by the ear, and relative to the sound entering the sound-delivery chamber, a first duct to convey the sound generated by the loudspeaker, in the against-the-ear mode, from the sound-delivery chamber and through the second housing region into the space bounded by the ear, and a second duct to convey the sound generated by the loudspeaker from the sound-collecting chamber to the sound-delivery chamber, in both the against-the-ear mode and the away-from-the-ear mode.