FR2764764A1 - Protection shutter for small mobile telephones - Google Patents

Abstract

The protection shutter covers the front face of a mobile telephone (2) in the close position, protecting the screen and keyboard from damage. In the open position, the shutter slides downwards, to reveal the screen and keyboard, extending the length of the mobile phone. A microphone (13) is placed at the end of the shutter, allowing a small size mobile phone to be placed to the ear and mouth for communications.

Description

DESCRIPTION
The invention relates to telephone equipment comprising a chassis in particular consisting of: - a main housing provided with a front face, - and a protection element of said housing.

 The invention has in particular interesting applications in the field of mobile telephony.

 Such telephone equipment is described in particular in European patent application No. 0 763 904 A1 filed on 06.09.1996 by the company ALCATEL MOBILE PHONES. The protective element used in this document is a removable cover designed to be able to be fixed on the rear face of the phone. The user is thus freed from the worry of finding a place to store the cover when using his telephone, and the risks of losing the cover are eliminated.

 However, this protective element remains relatively complex to handle.

 The object of the invention is to propose telephone equipment provided with a protection element which is particularly simple and comfortable to use.

 For this, telephone equipment according to the invention and as described in the introductory paragraph is characterized in that said protective element is a sliding curtain intended to cover at least partially the front face of said housing in the closed position.

 The protective element is therefore secured to the housing, which eliminates all the problems associated with its storage or its loss.

In addition, it has the advantage of being particularly simple and robust from the mechanical point of view, of being very easy to handle for the user, and of not increasing the size of the telephone equipment.

 In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, said curtain comprises a part intended to extend out of said housing when said curtain is in the open position in order to extend the telephone equipment.

 This embodiment is particularly advantageous when the telephone equipment is a small mobile telephone. I1 then makes it possible, by a single operation, to discover the front face of the case and to extend the telephone in order to improve its ergonomics. Advantageously, when the curtain is in the open position, this part of the curtain makes a non-zero angle with the front face of the housing. For example, she wears the microphone and / or the telephone keypad.

 The invention will be better understood and other details will appear in the light of the description which follows, with reference to the appended drawings which are given by way of nonlimiting example and in which FIGS. 1 to 4 schematically represent different views of examples of embodiment of an equipment according to the invention.

 In the following description, the described telephone equipment is a mobile telephone, but the invention can be applied to any type of telephone equipment.

 According to Figures 1 to 3, a telephone according to the invention comprises a chassis 1 which is in particular constituted by a housing 2 and by a protective curtain 3. The housing 2 is in particular provided with a screen 4, a keyboard 5, an earpiece 6, an antenna 7 and a groove 8 for guiding the curtain 3.

 In this exemplary embodiment, the protective curtain 3 is composed of slats mounted parallel to each other. A slat 9 located at a first end of the curtain 3 is provided with a handle 10 facilitating the movement of the curtain by the user and serving as a stop in the open position. A slat ll located at the opposite end of the curtain 3 is connected to a rigid panel 12. This rigid panel 12 is intended to extend out of said housing when said curtain is in the open position in order to extend the telephone. It carries a microphone 13 at its free end. This microphone also acts as a stop when the curtain 3 is in the closed position.

In the example described, the panel 12 is provided with a rectangular recess 14 intended to allow the insertion of a card (for example a SIM card (from the English Suscriber
Identification Module)) from the back of the phone when the curtain is in the closed position.

 The shape of the housing 2 is chosen so as to facilitate the circulation of the curtain. For this purpose the angles 20, 21 and 22 of the housing are rounded.

 In the embodiment of Figure 2, the front and rear faces of the housing 2 are substantially parallel so that in the open position the panel 12 is parallel to the front face of the phone.

 In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the lower part of the rear face has a rectilinear shape making an angle "a" with the front face of the housing so that in the open position the panel 12 makes an angle "a" with said front face. This embodiment greatly improves the ergonomics and the handling of the telephone.

 In another exemplary embodiment, the curtain 3 consists of a metal tape of the type used in the manufacture of tape measures.

 In Figure 4, there is shown a telephone whose keyboard 5 is carried by the panel 12. The housing 2 is then likely to be provided with a screen 4 of larger size.

 It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been described by way of example. I1 is for example possible to provide that the curtain 3 opens by pushing down, and that the panel 12 then extends out of the housing to extend the phone up. Advantageously, the panel 12 will then carry an earpiece at its free end.

Claims (9)

1. Telephone equipment comprising a chassis (1) in particular consisting of: - a main housing (2) provided with a front face, - and a protection element of said housing, characterized in that said protection element is a sliding curtain (3) intended to cover at least partially the front face of said housing in the closed position. 2. Telephone equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that said curtain comprises a part (12) intended to extend out of said housing when said curtain is in the open position in order to extend the telephone equipment. 3. Telephone equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that said curtain is a slatted curtain (9, 11). 4. Telephone equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that said curtain is a slatted curtain (9, 11) which ends in a panel (12) constituting the part intended to extend out of the housing. 5. Equipment according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that said curtain is made of a flexible material. 6. Equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that said housing has a shape such that, when the curtain is in the open position, the part of the curtain intended to extend the equipment forms a non-zero angle (a) with the front of the housing. 7. Equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that the part of said curtain which is intended to extend the telephone equipment comprises a microphone (13). 8. Equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that the part of said curtain which is intended to extend the telephone equipment comprises a keyboard (5). 9. Equipment according to claim 2, characterized in that the part of said curtain which is intended to extend the telephone equipment comprises an earpiece (6).