GB2339361A

GB2339361A - Mobile telephone handset has antenna adjacent mouthpiece

Info

Publication number: GB2339361A
Application number: GB9926400A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Weston
Original assignee: WESTON JAMES L
Current assignee: WESTON JAMES L
Priority date: 1999-11-09
Filing date: 1999-11-09
Publication date: 2000-01-19
Also published as: GB9926400D0

Description

- I - 2339361 HANDSET FOR A MOBILE TELEPHONE The present invention relates

to a wireless telephone handset. The invention is primarily applicable to a handset intended for a cellular telephone but it may also apply to the handset of a cordless telephone.

The possible danger associated with radiation emitted by telephone handsets that act as radio transmitters and receivers has recently become of great concern. There are fears that the proximity of a powerful radio transmitter to the brain can present a health hazard. Claims have been made that sach radiation might be the cause of ailments such as headaches and confusion and possibly even more serious -.

conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or even brain tumours.

-, The present invention seeks therefore to reduce the intensity of radiation sensed by the brain when using a wireless telephone handset.

According to the present invention, there is provided a wireless telephone handset comprising a housing having an ear piece near one end and a mouth piece near the opposite end, and an antenna arranged at the same end of the housing as the mouth piece.

Preferably, the antenna, which may be retractable, projects from the mouth piece end of the housing.

Advantageously, the interior of the housing may be shielded to ensure that substantially all the radiation is emitted from the antenna.

When the handset of a conventional mobile telephone is held next to the head, the transmitting antenna projects from the upper end of the handset, which is the part of the handset nearest the brain. The radiation intensity to which the brain is exposed is therefore relatively high.

This problem has been recognised in the past and hands free adapters are available that are worn as earphones and carry a microphone on a wire that is plugged into an extension socket the handset. As well as freeing the user's hands, such adapters act to distance the brain from the transmitting antenna. Attaching such an adapter to the telephone handset can sometimes be awkward and the trailing wires can prove cumbersome.

Ift the present invention, all the equipment is still in one easily held and stored handset but the position of the is antenna is moved from its current position near the ear piece (and therefore next to the brain) to the mouth piece which is normally held well away from the head. By this simple measure, the invention enables the radiation intensity to which the brain is exposed to be reduced significantly.

By shielding the remainder of the handset, it is possible to ensure that only the antenna emits significant levels of radiation so that no danger is presented by radiation from the remainder of the circuitry disposed within the handset.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a conventional mobile telephone handset, and Figure 2 is a similar view of a handset of the invention.

Figure 1 shows a conventional wireless handset of a cordless telephone or a cellular telephone. The handset comprises an elongate housing 10 with an ear piece or loudspeaker 12 at its upper end and a mouth piece or microphone 14 mounted at its lower end. The handset additionally includes various control and dialing buttons 16 and an LCD display 18. A rechargeable battery (not shown) is removably attached to the rear of the housing. The handset also contains radio and telephony circuits. The interior design of the telephone handset is well known in the art and need not be described in detail within the context of the present invention..

The radio circuit within the handset requires an antenni and such an antenna is conventionally positioned as shown at 20 in Figure 1 at the top of the handset, near the ear piece 12. When mounted in such a position, the antenna 20 lies in close proximity to the brain when the telephone is in use and may present a health hazard.

The telephone handset of the present invention, which is shown in Figure 2, is generally similar to that of Figure 1 and like components have been allocated like reference numerals to avoid repetition of the description. The fundamental difference between the handset of the invention and conventional handsets is that the radio antenna 24 is located at the lower end of the housing 10 near to the mouth piece 14. The handset is normally held with the mouth piece pointing away from the face of the user so that the brain is exposed to lower radiation levels. The repositioning of the antenna 24 does not however impair the performance of the telephone which can communicate with its base station or with a cell in the normal manner.

As some radiation in a conventional handset may be emitted by the circuitry within the housing of the handset, it is preferred in the present invention to shield the handset so that radiation is only emitted from the antenna.

The antenna may itself be of conventional design and it may be a fixed antenna, retractable in one piece or telescopically collapsible.

The invention is not restricted to the type of handset shown in the drawings but can also be applied to telephones having a flap that fold down to act as a mouth piece. In such telephones, the antenna may either be integrated into the fold down flap or positioned on the housing behind or to one side of the flap.

Claims

1. A wireless telephone handset comprising a housing having an ear piece near one end and a mouth piece near the opposite end, and an antenna arranged at the same end of the housing as the mouth piece.

2. A telephone handset as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antenna projects from the mouth piece end of the 10 housing.

3. A telephone handset as claimed in claim 2, wherein the antenna is retractably mounted on the housing.

4. A telephone handset as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the interior of the housing is shielded to ensure that substantially all the radiation is emitted from the,antenna.

5. A telephone handset constructed substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.