Patent ID: 7920698

Claim:
A microphone system for a telephone having a housing, the microphone system comprising: a flexible slide track having a plurality of first gear teeth and being slidably supported within the housing; a microphone having a portion thereof received within the housing and non-movably attached to an extendible member; a gear rotatably supported within the housing and in intermeshing engagement with the first gear teeth; a motor attached to the gear for turning the gear to extend/retract the microphone between a retracted position and an extended position; the extendible member including a plurality of sections of decreasing diameter, the extendible member being affixed to the flexible slide track and configured to telescope such that the plurality of sections of decreasing diameter minimize the length of the extendible member when the microphone is in a retracted position and maximize the length of the extendible member when the microphone is in an extended position; and a sensor, the sensor being configured to perform at least one of activation and deactivation of the motor.