FR2803152A1 - Wire attached telephone handset waterproof method having mouthpiece/earpiece having microperforated membrane covering allowing cleaning and sound passage. - Google Patents

Abstract

The waterproofing method has a waterproof membrane protecting the speaker and microphone sections allowing mouthpiece and earpiece cleaning. The membrane has microperforations not allowing water to pass but allowing sound to pass through without impediment. The waterproofing method has a wired telephone handset with a membrane covering the earpiece and mouthpiece. The membrane has microperforations and can be left in place following cleaning.

Description

The present invention relates to a device intended to avoid incidents encountered with telephone handsets (wired or wireless) but also with telephones directly connected to radio networks. These phones are the objects during their use of dirt, liquid sprays (water, ...), immersions (voluntary or involuntary), shocks, falls, crushing. These attacks quickly cause these devices to become inoperable and therefore annoy the user. In addition, these devices do not allow easy cleaning because they are not designed to resist cleaning agents (the holes located in front of the earpiece and the microphone intended, for the passage of sound waves, allow liquids to enter).

The device according to the invention consists in using a material endowed with properties impermeable to water (in the liquid state) but permeable to air and having the property of not obstructing the transmission of acoustic waves. The material having these properties will serve to waterproof the electroacoustic transducers (microphone and earphone) while allowing transmission of the acoustic waves through this porous wall with the minimum of distortions and attenuation of the signal, which would be incompatible with normal use. of the device. The material may be composed of an assembly of different materials to obtain the desired properties. For example: micro-perforated barrier layer allowing the passage of gas molecules and impermeable to water (in the liquid state); this layer is deposited by coating, glued or co-laminated on a support fabric. The properties of this material thus formed are on the one hand impermeability, on the other hand permeability to air molecules and therefore an almost free passage of the waves of acoustic pressures, which gives this invention the advantage of not not distort the acoustic response curve of the phone. For optimal application of the invention, the entire handset will be waterproof (including the electrical connection with the base in the case of wired devices). The invention may be supplemented by a design of the device resistant to shocks and other mechanical actions; for example: a shell made of flexible material with an internal architecture of the handset designed to undergo deformations without risk of rupture for the elements.

Claims (7)

1) Corded telephone handset, characterized in that it includes protection on the transmitter and the receiver of sounds (microphone and earpiece) made of a waterproof and breathable material. The performance of this material being obtained by the size of the micro perforations that it comprises (the gas I water separation resulting from the very small size of the orifices and the nature of the said material *). The transmission of acoustic waves remains little disturbed because the vibration of the air molecules passes through these orifices (the sound signal is very little disturbed by this protection) while protecting the organs of the device from water and dirt. This material allows cleaning 2) Telephone handset according to claim 1 characterized by the use of membranes produced by an assembly (laminating or gluing for example) of a support material (synthetic fibers woven or not) and a micro-perforated PTFE sheet (for example: use of Gore-Tex 8 brand products - trademark registered by WL Gore). This membrane is mounted in a sealed manner on the telephone handset (the casing being waterproof). 3) Telephone handset according to claim 1 or 2 characterized by the use of membrane having the properties of the invention, used in an environment requiring aseptic conditions. For example in the rooms of hospitals or care establishments where hygienic conditions require careful disinfection of objects in contact with the sick. The application of the invention makes it possible to create a device which can be easily cleaned, the cavities for the microphone or the earpiece are covered with a membrane which is easy to clean since it is waterproof. 4) Device characterized by the application of material described according to claim 1 or claim 2, in front of the dialing and control keys for achieving the sealing of the device. 5) Device according to the preceding claims characterized by the application to a protective envelope (or cover), made with a waterproof material except the areas facing the earpiece and the microphone, which would use the waterproof material and breathable (control keys can also be protected with this material). This device makes it possible to generalize the protection provided by the invention to any telephone device not designed according to the preceding claims. 6) Device according to claim 4 characterized by the application of waterproof and breathable material facing the earphone and microphone and waterproof and shockproof material for the realization of the other part of the protective shell intended to receive a telephone operating by radio waves which does not benefit from any protection. 7) Device according to claims 1 or 2 characterized by the use of waterproof and breathable material facing the earpiece and microphone, applied to the production of a single use envelope or cover intended to cover telephones, used in environments requiring certain hygienic conditions for objects in contact with successive patients.