ULTRASONIC PROXIMITY DETECTOR FOR A TELEPHONE DEVICE

An ultrasonic proximity detector for a telephone device to detect the proximity of an object thereto includes an ultrasound signal generator generating ultrasound that is broadcast by a speaker of the telephone device. Processing circuitry is coupled to a microphone of the telephone device. The processing circuitry processes broadcast ultrasound that is picked up by the microphone to detect the proximity of an object to the telephone device.