The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 01, 2000
Filed:
Dec. 11, 1997
Nicholas Brawne, San Francisco, CA (US);
Yutaka Hasegawa, San Francisco, CA (US);
Sony Corporation of Japan, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A telephone which includes a telephone body adapted to receive different earpieces is disclosed. A variety of different earpieces may be coupled to the telephone body. In one embodiment the telephone body has an opening formed in it that exposes a connector receptacle adapted to mate with a connector of an earpiece. By inserting the earpiece into the opening, the connector of an earpiece mates with the connector receptacle so as to mechanically and electrically attach the earpiece to the telephone body. Alternatively, screw threads are used to attach the earpiece to the telephone body. Some earpieces conform generally to the contours of the telephone body and others extend from the telephone body. The ability to couple different earpieces to the telephone body allows for the easy and inexpensive manufacture of telephones having an earpiece conforming to the specific needs of a user.