Patents by Inventor Eric Maxon

Eric Maxon has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Optical switch for headset
    Patent number: 6016347
    Abstract: An optical switch for controlling an operative condition of a headset. The headset includes a microphone boom that is rotatable with respect to a housing for the headset. A rotator element is coupled to the microphone boom such that the rotator element rotates with respect the housing along with the microphone boom. Selected portions of a surface of the rotator element are conditioned to be more reflective than the remaining portions. Alternately, portions of the rotator element are opaque. A pair of optical transceivers are in fixed positions relative to the housing. When the microphone boom is positioned approximately straight upward with respect to a user's head, reflective portions of the rotator element are within a field of view of each optical transceiver of the pair. In this position, the headset is in an "off" or "standby" mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1998
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2000
    Assignee: Hello Direct, Inc.
    Inventors: John Harry Magnasco, Eric Maxon