Headset with a Pivoting Microphone Arm and Speaker

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

p-00021. Field of the Disclosure

p-0003The disclosure relates in general to communication devices and, more particularly, to a headset for use with a mobile phone or other electronic communication device.

p-00042. Background Art

p-0005Some headsets incorporate a boom or arm that contains the microphone which positions it closer to the user's mouth. Existing headsets with the microphone arm typically have a better microphone audio response and a higher perceived quality verses headsets without booms or arms.

p-0006However existing conventional microphone arms are not always user adjustable and nor have the ability to fold into the device to provide a compact size. Consequently, these headsets are not considered very portable.

p-0007It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved communication device, which overcomes most, if not all of the preceding disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

p-0008An improved communication device is provided comprising a headset or earset which is easy to use, lightweight, attractive and fun. The user friendly communication device is economical, efficient and effective. The portable communication device is also compact, sturdy and dependable.

p-0009In one preferred form, the wireless communication device comprises a wireless assembly comprising a wireless headset, wireless earset or wireless earpiece for wireless communication with an electronic communication device. The wireless assembly can have an antenna and battery, preferably a rechargeable battery.

p-0010The electronic communication device can comprise a wireless electronic communication device, such as one or more of the following: a mobile phone, flip phone, portable networking device, internet communications device, camera phone, clamshell device, radio telephone, cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless e-mail device, or handheld electronic device

p-0011The communication device can have a pivotable boom that pivots clockwise and/or counterclockwise about an axis from a closed compact position to an open use position and at least one tactile button. The boom can contain at least one microphone and can also have at least one tactile button.

p-0012The wireless assembly can comprise a pivotable audio transducer such as a speaker, earbud or earphone on a pivotable stem for accommodating the left ear or right ear of the user. In one embodiment, the stem pivots about the same axis as the boom. The stem can be independently and separately manually pivotable from the stem. In another embodiment, the pivotable audible transducer can be coupled to the boom, such as through the stem, so that the boom automatically pulls and pivots the pivotable audible transducer. This embodiment can comprise an angularly telescoping boom and speaker stem combination.

p-0013The communication device can comprise at least one tactile spring-loaded cam for clicking and/or indicating to the user the position of the boom and/or stem. Furthermore, the boom and/or assembly can comprise at least one magnet for holding the boom in the closed compact position. A magnet in the boom can activate an electrical switch, such as a hall effect switch or reed switch, when the boom is pivoted to detect pivoting and position of the boom.

p-0014There are different methods of routing the electrical wires between the pivoting boom and main housing so as to connect the inner electronics of the pivoting boom back to the main circuit board in the assembly. The wires can be routed through the axis of a tubular connector, such as pivot pin comprising a hollow screw or hollow rivet, which share the same axis of rotation of the boom, or can be parallel to and offset from the axis so that the wires are routed outside of the pivoting axis or mechanical attachment of the boom and/or stem.

p-0015The communication device can be a wired communication device which is hard wired or detachably wired or plugged into the electronic device. The wired electronic device does not need an antenna or battery.

p-0016The novel headset can have a unique articulating microphone arm (boom) and speaker tower. The articulation in the microphone arm and speaker tower is user adjustable so the device can be optimized to fit the face for left or right hand users.

p-0017The microphone arm (boom) can be extended toward the mouth and folded into a closed position. The closed position provides an integrated solution with the main body and maximizes portability like no other headset with a microphone arm.

p-0018The communication device can have two microphones in the arm (boom) for noise cancelation. The communication device can have a speaker located to the main body. The speaker can be mounted in a separate housing that pivots relative to the microphone arm and main body.

p-0019Furthermore, the communication device can have two microphones with two separate ports in a pivoting arm (boom).

p-0020The communication device can have a microphone arm (boom) attached to a main body and a transducer located in a separate housing that pivots relative to the main body.

p-0021The communication device can have an independently rotating boom and ear stem that share the same axis of rotation. Ear stem rotation provides additional comfort. Each boom or ear stem rotation motion can have its own independent detents or clicks.

p-0022Magnets can be located in both the main body and boom and used to help secure the boom in the closed position. Magnets can improve the overall experience.

p-0023The communication device can have multiple microphones mounted in the boom.

p-0024The rotating boom and ear stem can be provided in which boom can rotate either clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) and the ear stem follows that boom.

p-0025The communication device can have a unique articulating microphone arm (boom) and speaker tower. The microphone arm can be extended toward the mouth and folded into a closed position. The closed position provides an integrated solution with the main body and maximizes portability. Also, an alternate embodiment has been included that automatically rotates the speaker in the proper position when the microphone boom is opened.

p-0026A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following detailed descriptions and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

p-0027<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a back diagrammatic view of a wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0028<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a front diagrammatic view of the wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset.

p-0029<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> is a top diagrammatic view of a wireless communication device comprising an adjustable wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0030<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is a perspective view of a wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset in a closed compact position in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0031<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a perspective view of the wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset in an open use position in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0032<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> is a top view of the wireless communication device comprising the wireless headset or wireless earset in the open use position.

p-0033<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 7</figref> is a perspective view of the wireless communication device comprising the wireless headset or wireless earset in the closed compact position.

p-0034<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref> is a diagrammatic assembly view of a wireless communication device comprising the wireless headset or wireless earset in the open use position in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0035<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref> is a diagrammatic assembly view of the wireless communication device comprising the wireless headset or wireless earset in the closed compact position.

p-0036<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of wire routing in a wireless communication device comprising the wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0037<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 11</figref> is a diagrammatic perspective view of another wire routing in a wireless communication device comprising the wireless headset or wireless earset with portion cutaway for ease of understanding and clarity in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0038<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 12</figref> is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of further wire routing in a wireless communication device comprising the wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0039<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 13</figref> is a reduced diagrammatic view of another wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0040<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 14</figref> is an enlarged diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0041<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 15</figref> is a diagrammatic perspective assembly view of a boom housing assembly in a wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0042<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 16</figref> is a diagrammatic perspective view of the boom housing assembly.

p-0043<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 17</figref> is a diagrammatic perspective assembly view of a boom assembly in a wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0044<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 18</figref> is a diagrammatic perspective view of the boom assembly.

p-0045<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 19</figref> is another diagrammatic perspective assembly view of a boom assembly in a wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0046<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 20</figref> is a diagrammatic perspective view of the boom assembly.

p-0047<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 21</figref> is an enlarged diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the wireless communication device comprising a wireless headset or wireless earset in accordance with principle of the present invention.

p-0048<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 22</figref> is an enlarged perspective view of metal leaf spring flexes in the boom assembly;

p-0049<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 23</figref> is a perspective view of cams in the speaker housing and boom housing.

p-0050<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 24</figref> is a chart of various positions of the boom and speaker tower.

p-0051<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 25</figref> is a perspective view of an electronic communications device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

p-0052The following is a detailed description and explanation of the preferred embodiments of the invention and best modes for practicing the invention.

p-0053As shown in the drawings, a wireless communication device <b>100</b> (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1 and 2</figref>) comprises a wireless headset <b>102</b> or wireless earset <b>104</b> for wireless communication, such as by Bluetooth, with a wireless electronic communication device <b>106</b> (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 25</figref>), such as one or more of the following: a mobile phone, flip phone, portable networking device, internet communications device, camera phone, clamshell device, radio telephone, cellular phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless e-mail device, or handheld electronic device.

p-0054The wireless communication device can have a main housing <b>108</b> providing a main headset body (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1 and 2</figref>) with switches <b>110</b> comprising tactile buttons <b>112</b> including a volume up (increase) control button <b>114</b>, a volume down (decrease) control button <b>116</b>, a mute button <b>118</b>, and a slidable power activation button <b>120</b>. The main housing can contain a main printed circuit board (PCB) <b>122</b>, a rechargeable battery <b>124</b>, a micro universal serial bus (μUSB) <b>126</b> and a magnet <b>128</b> (housing magnet). An antenna <b>130</b> can be connected and mounted to the top of the main housing for receiving signals from and transmitting signals to the electronic communication device.

p-0055The wireless communication device (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1 and 2</figref>) can have a wire bundle <b>132</b> (speaker wire bundle) comprising two wires which are operatively connected to a pivotable acoustic audio transducer <b>134</b> in a speaker housing <b>135</b> comprising a loud speaker <b>136</b> and/or an earbud <b>138</b> or earphone <b>140</b>. The audio transducer can pivot on a pivot tube <b>142</b> comprising a pivotable stem (transducer-stem) (speaker stem) (ear stem) about an axis <b>144</b> of rotation to accommodate the left ear or right ear of the user. The audio transducer can be coupled to a pivotable boom <b>146</b> (microphone boom) (rotatable boom) via a pivotable boom-stem <b>148</b> comprising a tubular connector, such as hollow boom pin, hollow screw or hollow rivet, a solid connector <b>150</b> comprising a boom plug and a boom wire bundle <b>152</b> comprising 5-6 wires. The speaker stem and boom can pivot about the same axis of rotation.

p-0056The boom can comprise a microphone arm (swing arm) and pivot about an axis <b>154</b> of rotation (boom-axis) with the pivotable boom-stem from a closed compact position (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 4</figref>, <b>7</b> and <b>9</b>) to an open use position (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1-3</figref>, <b>5</b>, <b>6</b> and <b>8</b>) in acoustical proximity to a user's mouth for receiving sounds and speech from the mouth of the user. The boom can have one or more tactile buttons <b>156</b> (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>) such as comprising a multifunction tactile button (MFB) switch, hang-up button, off button, answer button, hold button, or combinations thereof. The boom can contain boom flex <b>158</b> comprising flexible conductive metal. The boom can also contain a magnet <b>160</b> (boom-magnet) (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 2</figref>, <b>8</b> and <b>9</b>) which cooperates with the housing magnet for holding the boom in the closed compact position, so that the boom is securely held against the main body housing when the boom is in the 0 degree position. The boom-magnet can also trigger an electrical switch such as a hall effect switch or reed switch to detect the pivoting action of the boom. This feature can be used to put the headset into a different software mode, such as activate or inactive the headset.

p-0057The boom (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1 and 2</figref>) can have two ports <b>162</b> and <b>164</b> that comprises holes or openings which receive and hold two microphones <b>166</b> and <b>168</b>, respectively. The ports and microphones can comprise inner and outer ports and inner and outer microphones. The microphones are spaced apart, separated and cooperate with each other to provide noise cancellation. The microphones can comprise microelectricalmechanical systems (MEMS) microphones or surface mounts technology (SMT) microphones.

p-0058<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> illustrates the adjustable wireless headset or wireless earset in which the boom and audio transducer can pivot clockwise and/or counterclockwise. Preferably, the maximum pivot or rotation is 360 degrees so that the wires do not break.

p-0059Most preferably, the boom pivots 180 degrees and the transducer audible and transducer-stem (speaker-stem) pivot 100 degrees. The boom can rotate (pivot) 180 degrees clockwise or 180 degrees counterclockwise.

p-0060The wireless communications device can have a boom housing <b>170</b> (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 4-7</figref>) and a speaker tower <b>172</b> that provides an overmold housing for the speaker wire bundle, boom wire bundle and some of the components associated with audio transducer. The wireless communication device is moveable and pivotable from a closed compact position (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 4 and 7</figref>) to an open use position (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 5 and 6</figref>) and vice versa.

p-0061There are different methods of routing the electrical wires between the pivoting boom and main housing so as to connect the inner electronics of the pivoting boom back to the main circuit board mounted in the headset body. The wires can be routed through the axis of the pivot pin comprising a hollow screw or hollow rivet, which share the same axis of rotation of the boom, as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref> or parallel to and offset from the axis so that the wires are routed outside of the pivoting axis or mechanical attachment of the boom and/or ear stem (speaker stem) as shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 11 and 12</figref>.

p-0062The tower and boom housing can have a pivot housing <b>174</b> (swivel housing) (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 14 and 15</figref>) and a washer <b>176</b>. In the boom housing assembly <b>170</b> of <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 15</figref>, the hollow pin <b>148</b> can be pressed fitted or crimped into the swivel housing <b>174</b> to retain the boom <b>146</b> to the swivel housing.

p-0063In the boom assembly of <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 17</figref>, the wire bundle <b>132</b> is routed to the pivot tube and into the boom housing <b>170</b>. The overmold <b>172</b> is inserted over the pivot tuber <b>135</b> and attached, such as via glue or adhesive. The pivot tube is inserted through the speaker housing <b>135</b>. The rubber overmold can ride on one edge of the speaker house to reduce rotation and provide an abutment stop. The pivot tube can be inserted into the boom assembly and attached via glue, adhesive or a set screw.

p-0064In the boom assembly of <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 19</figref>, after the boom flex <b>158</b> and printed circuit board (PCB) are assembled into the boom <b>146</b>, the boom wire bundle <b>152</b> is soldered to provide contacts. Grommets <b>178</b> can be placed between the microphones <b>166</b> and <b>168</b> and covers <b>180</b> and <b>182</b> to insure an acoustic seal. Acoustical mesh and/or foam can reside between the grommets and covers to provide acoustical insulation. The inner cover <b>180</b> can be heat staked to one side of the boom <b>146</b>. The outer cover can be snapped or glued to sloe up the boom assembly.

p-0065In the boom assembly of <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 21</figref>, there is shown the rubber overmold housing <b>172</b> and ear loop portions of the main housing. An upper abutment stop <b>182</b> comprising an ear stem rotational hard stop can only allows ear stem rotation between −100 degrees and +100 degrees. A metal hook <b>184</b> can be inserted and molded into the overmold housing <b>172</b>. The boom assembly can have plastic locking snaps <b>186</b> on an inner frame part <b>188</b>. A metal leaf spring <b>190</b> can provide a three ear stem that clicks. A rubber O-ring <b>192</b> can adjust the rotational friction of the ear stem. A boom coil spring <b>194</b> can be biased against a boom cam <b>196</b> to help provide the click feel of the boom. A boom hard stop <b>198</b> provides a lower boom abutment barrier and stop can allow 0 to 180 degrees pivotal movement of the boom.

p-0066The metal leaf spring <b>190</b> of the boom assembly of <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 22</figref> flexes in the radial arrow direction as the ear stem or pivot housing <b>174</b> rotates in the circular arrow direction and clicks at −100 degrees, 0 degrees and +100 degrees positions.

p-0067The boom assembly of <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 23</figref> can have boom cams <b>190</b> and a tower coil spring <b>200</b> biased against tower cams <b>202</b> (speaker housing cams) to provide the click feel of the boom and tower. Four cams can be provided in the tower and four cams can be provided in the boom housing for a total of 8 cams. The cams can have three different height to control the order at which the engage and disengage the boom as the boom pivots.

p-0068The pivoting speaker stem and microphone boom can incorporate tactile click feedback to the user when rotated to certain orientations. The internal spring-loaded cam of the boom helps the user feels clicks at the 0 degree closed position and again at the 180 degree open position. Similarly, the pivoting speaker stem has a tactile spring-loaded cam or leaf spring that helps the user feels a clock at the 0 degree position, +100 degree position and −100 degree positions. These angular positions for feeling the clicks can be adjusted to other angles, if desired.

p-0069The speaker stem can be pivoted or rotated by the user if desired or if the internal speaker stem cam is omitted. The speaker stem can automatically open or close based upon the pivot position or rotation of the boom in response to the internal speaker cam and boom cam.

p-0070The speaker stem can be manually rotated or pivoted to a fully open position or back to a fully closed position. For right ear use, the user can pivot the boom by hand clockwise as viewed from above from a 0 degree position to 180 degree position. As the boom progresses through its 0 to 180 degree pivot (rotation), the boom automatically grabs the speaker stem and opens it up to the desired speaker stem angle, such as 100 degrees or 90 degrees. Similarly, as the boom is pivoted or rotated back to the 0 degree closed position, the boom automatically grabs the speaker stem and rotates it back to the 0 degree closed position as sell, so that when the boom reaches the 0 degree closed position, the speaker stem is also in a 0 degree closed position.

p-0071For left ear use, the same speaker stem and boom pivoting movement and rotation occur as described above, except that the boom and ear stem pivot in a counter clockwise direction together as viewed from above.

p-0072If it is desirable to have internal cam to feel click in embodiment 2, the speaker stem may only open to +90 degrees to −90 degrees because the internal rotating cam have to be symmetrical and have ear lobes 180 degrees apart. However, if the internal cam is omitted in embodiment 2, then the speaker stem can open to angles other than 90 degrees such as +100 degrees to −100 degrees. The above arrangement can provide an angularly telescoping boom and speaker stem combination.

p-0073The arrows of the chart in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 24</figref> illustrate the positions of the boom as speaker tower as viewed from the top. In part A of the chart, the boom and speaker tower start at the 0 degree closed position. In part B of the chart, the boom rotates (pivots) +90 degrees first and a smaller click is felt at the 90 degree position, but the speaker tower has not yet moved. In part C of the chart, the boom continues to pivot from a +90 degree position to a +180 degree position during which the speaker tower is locked with the boom and follows to the +90 degree position where the speaker tower meets with a hard stop. When the boom rotates (pivots) to the +180 degree position, it meets another hard stop and a smaller click occurs at this position. In part D of the chart, as the boom is rotated (pivoted) back to the +90 degree position, the speaker tower pivots back to the 0 degree position and a larger click is felt at this position. In part E of the chart, as the boom is pivoted back to the 0 degree position, the speaker tower remains at the 0 degree position and a smaller click is felt at this position.

p-0074In part F of the chart of <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 24</figref>, the boom and speaker tower start the 0 degree position. In part G of the chart, the boom pivots to a −90 degree position first and a smaller click is felt at this position, but the speaker tower has not yet moved in this position. In part H of the chart, the boom continues to pivot from a −90 degree position to a −180 degree position during which the speaker tower is locked with the boom and follows to the −90 degree position where the speaker tower meets with a hard stop. When the boom rotates (pivots) to the −180 degree position, the boom meets another hard stop and a smaller click occurs at this position. In part I of the chart, as the boom is rotated (pivoted) back to the −90 degree position, the speaker tower pivots back to the 0 degree position and a larger click is felt at this position. In part J of the chart, as the boom is pivoted back to the 0 degree position, the speaker tower remains at the 0 degree position and a smaller click is felt at this position.

p-0075The headset of the communication device has a unique articulating microphone arm (boom) and a speaker tower. The arm can contain two microphones positioned at the end of the arm (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1 and 2</figref>). A speaker can be mounted within a speaker housing and allowed to pivot parallel and relative to the arm motion. The main electrical components including a printed circuit board (PCB), rechargeable battery, antenna, etc. can be mounted in a main housing. The arm can pivot relative to the speaker housing the main housing. The main housing can be located but is not limited to behind the ear.

p-0076The microphone arm (boom) can pivot from a fully closed position (0 deg) to an open position (˜220 deg) (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>). The speaker housing (tower) can pivot from the one side of the main housing to the other to allow for both left and right hand users. When the microphone arm is in its fully closed position (0 deg), it can be integrated with the main housing and provides a compact form for portability (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 4 and 5</figref>) and provides an overall size advantage (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 6 and 7</figref>) compared to prior conventional headsets.

p-0077Magnets can be used to assist in closing the arm (boom) from its open position (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 8</figref>) to its fully closed position (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 9</figref>). A hall effect switch can be added to sense the position of boom using the magnet and place the device into a second mode.

p-0078There are two possible methods of routing the electrical wires between the pivoting boom and main housing. The wire(s) can be routed through the axis of the pivot point (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 10</figref>) or parallel to the axis (<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 5</figref>, <b>11</b> and <b>12</b>).

p-0079The arm (boom) can also contain one or more switches to provide control functions.

p-0080The boom and speaker stem both can pivot back to the closed position and this feature along with the magnets can allow for compact storage in a user's pocket or purse. Conventional behind the ear headsets are bigger and bulkier with respect to the boom and speaker components.

p-0081Starting from a 0 degree closed position, the boom can open and pivot either clockwise or counterclockwise, so there is minimal risk the user damaging or breaking the boom by rotating the boom in the wrong direction when starting from the rest or closed position.

p-0082Although the user can rotate the speaker stem by itself, the speaker stem is also automatically rotated in the appropriate position by automatically following the movement of the boom. It is not necessary for the user to touch the speaker stem in order for the speaker stem to pivot in response to rotation, movement or pivoting of the boom. The manual rotation of the boom automatically rotates the speaker orientation to left hand use or right hand use or to a closed storage position.

p-0083The pivoting speaker allows for left and right hand use on both sides of the head.

p-0084Embodiment 2 can provide a semi-automatic speaker location feature.

p-0085In some circumstances, it may be desirable, such as with multiple-mic digital signal processor (DSP) software algorithms to mount the microphones(s) in the main body instead of the boom to achieve the desired performance.

p-0086<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 21-22</figref> illustrate a preferred low-cost design. <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 23-24</figref> illustrates an alternate embodiment of a lower-cost approach to allow a boom to rotate 180 degrees in either direction.

p-0087In the drawings, <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1</figref>, <b>2</b>, and <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 8-20</figref> show an embodiment where the ear stem axis of rotation is not the same as the boom axis of rotation, while <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 21-22</figref> show the preferred embodiment of the headset where the ear stem axis of rotation is the same as the boom axis of rotation. The stem and boom axis of rotation are also the same for the alternate embodiment shown in <figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 23-24</figref>.

p-0088Among the many advantages of the communication device are:

p-00891. Superior capability.

p-00902. Superb performance

p-00913. Operable in both a manual and semi-automatic mode.

p-00924. Compact.

p-00935. Attractive

p-00946. Reliable.

p-00957. Comfortable.

p-00968. Portable.

p-00979. User friendly.

p-009810. Easy to use.

p-009911. Durable

p-010012. Economical.

p-010113. Attractive.

p-010214. Efficient.

p-010315. Effective.

p-0104Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that various modifications, substitutions, and rearrangements of parts, components, and/or process (method) steps, as well as other uses of the mobile electronic device can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the novel spirit and scope of this invention.