Abstract:
An insert high fidelity earphone is provided in which a hollow housing is connected to two tubes. A first tube is connected to the hollow housing on one side, and on the other side is inserted into an ear tip that ensures substantial sealing of the ear canal. A second tube is connected to hollow housing on one side and houses a cable that connects circuitry in the hollow housing to an audio source. The first tube comprises a damping assembly. The first tube comprises grooves on the inside wall that ensure that the damping assembly only fits in one orientation, which is the correct orientation. The damping assembly may be easily replaceable, without having to replace the entire earphone. The earphone may have a curved shape providing a comfortable and nearly invisible fit into the ear canal.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application makes reference to, claims priority to and claims benefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/692,508, entitled “High Fidelity Noise-Excluding Earphones With Ergonomically Designed Construction,” filed on Jun. 20, 2005, the complete subject matter of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, in its entirety. 
     This application makes reference to:
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,683, filed Jan. 27, 1988;   U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,967, filed May 7, 1990; and   U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,070, filed Dec. 19, 1996.   

    
    
     The above stated patents are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     [Not Applicable] 
     MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE 
     [Not Applicable] 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     With audio players of various types becoming more popular, consumer demand for earphones is higher than ever. With competitive earphone designs on the market, consumers are constantly looking for improved earphones. Some of the characteristics that consumers look for in earphones, generally, involve ease of operability and handling. For example, an earphone user prefers earphones that are easier to insert into and remove from the ear. While consumers generally prefer smaller earphones that are less visible and bulky, they also prefer earphones that do not require much force to put into the ears or remove from the ears. There can be a trade off sometimes between the size and ease of handling. Associated with that is the aesthetic aspect of the earphones offered to consumers. Some designs that can be easy to handle and operate, can sometimes involve shapes or designs that can be perceived as unattractive. 
     Another important characteristic that consumers look for in an earphone is the cost. While consumers desire high quality products, sometime it is not worth the price increase, and consumers end up settling for products with inferior performance in lieu of products at a higher price and more superior performance. Generally, the higher prices stem from high production prices and difficulty of assembly. Most earphones on the market nowadays either fall in the inferior performance/lower cost category or the superior performance/high cost category. Consumers generally end up choosing from one or the other, hence foregoing either performance for cost, or cost for performance. 
     Often, with more sophisticated earphone designs, the products can be complicated in design and hard to maintain. More specifically, certain parts within earphones that are pertinent to its functionality can certainly break down and require replacing. However, existing earphones are not very consumer-friendly in that respect, where consumers are often forced to discard earphones when certain parts stop performing their function such as, for example, dampers or filters. This problem ties back with the cost issue, where it can become costly for those who use earphones often when they have to frequently replace their earphones. 
     Another, and probably one of the most important characteristics that drive a consumer&#39;s choice of an earphone is the performance. While there is a plethora of earphones on the market nowadays, the vast majority are of low- to medium-audio quality or fidelity. In addition, many of the available earphones do not have as good noise-exclusion as needed for good listening on planes, trains, and other noisy places. This can be the root of many problems with earphones. Having poor noise-exclusion generally means that surrounding noise is often loud enough to suppress whatever the earphone user may be trying to listen to. As a result, the user will often turn the volume up, which creates numerous problems. First, the loud sounds can be very uncomfortable and bothersome for the consumers, and can be unhealthy for the hearing, and can cause hearing loss. Additionally, when a consumer turns the volume up, the quality of the audio she may be trying to listen to becomes very poor, especially the bass associated with the audio, which generally is not boosted correctly when the volume is increased to overcome the surrounding noise. Some products add a bass boost to try and cover up the surrounding noise, which generally has a low frequency emphasis, but that amount of bass boost is completely incorrect when excessive noise is not present because it alters the music or audio as intended by the artist or band performing the music, etc. 
     Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A system and/or method is provided for earphone design, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims. 
     These and other features and advantages of the present invention may be appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the present invention, along with the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary earphone, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  illustrates another exemplary earphone, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3   a  illustrates a cross sectional view of an exemplary earphone  300 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3   b  illustrates a diagram of an exemplary damper assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3   c  illustrates an exemplary circuitry  330 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary diagram of an earphone set, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates another exemplary diagram of an earphone set, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates another exemplary diagram of an earphone set, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention 
         FIG. 7  illustrates another exemplary diagram of an earphone set, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary plot of fidelity rating versus accuracy score. 
         FIG. 9   a  illustrates a plot of a frequency response of a previous earphone. 
         FIG. 9   b  illustrates the frequency response, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to earphones and especially to a high fidelity noise-excluding earphones with ergonomically designed construction. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary earphone  100 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The earphone  100  may comprise a sound tube  105 , a cap  110 , and a grommet  115 . The sound tube  105  may be inserted into different shaped ear tips that may be chosen by a user based on a desired comfort level. The cap  110  may house the circuitry and/or any hardware utilized in the earphone  100 . The grommet  115  may house a wire that may connect any circuitry and/or hardware housed within the cap  110  to a device (not shown) that may play the audio to which a user may be listening. The curved shape of the earphone  100  may provide ease of insertion into the ear of the user when an ear tip is attached to the sound tube  105 . The design and shape of the earphone  100  may provide maximum comfort to the user, where the earphone  100  may be inserted into the ear canal without causing discomfort to the user. The shape of the earphone may ensure that the earphone may be fully and comfortable inserted in the user&#39;s ear canal without pushing against the user&#39;s tragus. The cap  110  of the earphone  100  may fit comfortably and with little visibility in the user&#39;s ear, all the while, the shape may provide for an easier grip for the user to be able to easily remove the earphone  100  from the ear. The grommet  115  may be shaped such that it tapers in a natural curve, hence ensuring that the wires connecting the earphone  100  to the audio device may not protrude outwardly in an awkward placement. Additionally, the shape of the cap  110  may allow for an increased area for easier labeling of the earphone  100 . 
       FIG. 2  illustrates another exemplary earphone  200 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The earphone  200  may comprise a sound tube (not shown) such as, for example, the sound tube  105  of  FIG. 1 , where the sound tube may be inserted into an ear tip  206 . The earphone  200  may also comprise a cap  210  and a grommet  215 . The cap  210  may house the circuitry and/or any hardware utilized in the earphone  200 . The grommet  215  may house a wire that may connect any circuitry and/or hardware housed within the cap  210  to a device (not shown) that may play the audio to which a user may be listening. The ear tip  206  may comprise a triple-flange ear-tip, where each of the three flanges may be generally round. The use of the three ear-tip flanges may increase the percentage of persons who can obtain a good comfortable seal in the ear canal. The ear-tip flanges may be in a decreasing size, whereas the smallest flange may be closest to the tip of the earphone  200 , and the largest flange may be farthest away from the tip of the earphone  200 . Consequentially, if the smallest flange does not seal the ear canal well, the slightly larger flange may do so, and if the flange also does not completely seal the ear canal, the largest flange may do so, thus ensuring a comfortable and good seal of the ear canal for a larger number of users than if one flange were used. In an embodiment of the present invention, the ear tip  206  may be similar to the ear tip available in high-fidelity earplugs such as, for example, the high-fidelity earplugs disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,683, filed Jan. 27, 1988, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,967, filed May 7, 1990, and high-fidelity insert earphones such as, for example, the high-fidelity insert earphones disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,070, filed Dec. 19, 1996. Accordingly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,683, filed Jan. 27, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,967, filed May 7, 1990, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,070, filed Dec. 19, 1996, are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     Ensuring a good seal to the ear canal for a hearing aid may provide a good performance, because, for example, it may prevent unwanted audio feedback of sounds or outside noise seeping in, which may interfere with the sounds coming through the earphone  200  from an audio source to which it may be connected. 
       FIG. 3   a  illustrates a cross sectional view of an exemplary earphone  300 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The earphone  300  may comprise a sound tube  305 , a cap  310 , and a grommet  315 . The sound tube  305  may be inserted into different shaped ear tips that may be chosen by a user based on a desired comfort level. The ear tip may be, for example, an ear tip  206  of  FIG. 2 . The cap  310  may house the circuitry and/or any hardware utilized in the earphone  300 . The grommet  315  may house a wire that may connect any circuitry and/or hardware housed within the cap  310  to a device (not shown) that may play the audio to which a user may be listening. The cap  310  may house, for example, a circuitry  330 , which may comprise, for example, a transducer receiver. The sound tube  305  may house, for example, a damper plug  320  and a damper filter  325 . 
     The circuitry and hardware of the earphone of the present invention may be assembled and encased with the sound tube  305 , cap  310 , and grommet  315  of the earphone  300 . Ease of assembly of the earphone  300  may provide for easier assembly and lower costs of production. In addition, the shape of the damper plug  320  and the damper filter  325  may make it easier to assemble the pieces together in only one way, which is the correct order of assembly. As a result minimizing errors in assembly. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the damper filter  325  may be easily replaceable, where the whole earphone  300  may not have to be taken apart to replace the filter  325 . The damper filter  325  may be easily removed by the user and replaced with a new one without having to dispose of the whole earphone unit  300 , hence saving the user the cost of buying a whole new earphone unit  300 . 
       FIG. 3   b  illustrates a diagram of an exemplary damper assembly, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The damper assembly may comprise a damper plug  320 , which may have a small protruding ring  323  corresponding to grooves in the sound tube  305 , such that the damper plug  320  may only fit within the sound tube  305  in one orientation, hence eliminating the possibility of inserting the damper plug  320  in an incorrect orientation. Additionally, the small protruding rings  323  may ensure securing the damper plug  320  firmly in place within the sound tube  305 . The damper filter  325  may be affixed to the damper plug  320  using a layer of adhesive substance  340 . When the performance of the damper plug  320  deteriorates, the damper plug  320  may be easily replaced by removing and replacing with a new damper plug  320 . Replacing the damper plug  320  may be far more financially sound and cost effective than replacing the entire earphone. 
       FIG. 3   c  illustrates an exemplary circuitry  330 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The circuitry  330  may comprise a transducer receiver  360  connected in parallel with a capacitor  355 , and in series with a resistor  350 . The values of the circuitry are explored hereinafter. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary diagram of an earphone set, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The earphone set may comprise earphones  400 , each of which may be, for example, earphone  300  of  FIG. 3   a . The earphones  400  may be connected via a wire  405  to a plug  415 . The plug  415  may be used to connect the earphones  400  to any device with an audio output port. The earphone set may also comprise a shirt clip  420 , which may be utilized to fasten the wires to a user&#39;s clothing. The clip  420  may be stationary or adjustable. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates another exemplary diagram of an earphone set, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The earphone set may comprise earphones  500 , which may be, for example, earphone  300  of  FIG. 3   a . The earphones  500  may be connected via a wire  505  to a plug  515 . The plug  515  may be used to connect the earphones  500  to any device with an audio output port. The earphone set may also comprise a variable output controller  510 , which may be utilized to modify the total quality of the audio signal as desired by the user. 
     One embodiment of the variable output controller  510  may function as a “bass boost/sensitivity” control module. The switch  516  may be used to select between a low sensitivity “flat response” mode and a high sensitivity “bass boost” mode. In this embodiment the volume control  517  may change the overall loudness of the earphone. When in an environment without too much background noise, bass boost may not be needed. When not needed, the switch on the bass boost unit  510  may be turned to the “off” position. In other environments where there may be a lot of constant background noise that may harder to minimize such as, for example, in an airplane, the bass boost may be needed and the switch on the bass boost unit  510  may be turned to the “on” position. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates another exemplary diagram of an earphone set, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The earphone set may comprise earphones  600 , which may be, for example, earphone  300  of  FIG. 3   a . The earphones  600  may be connected via a wire  605  to a plug  615 . The plug  615  may be used to connect the earphones  600  to any device with an audio output port. The earphone set may also comprise a shirt clip  620 , which may be utilized to fasten the wires to a user&#39;s clothing. The clip  620  may be stationary or adjustable. The earphone set may also comprise an in-line microphone unit  610 . The in-line microphone unit  610  may, for example, comprise a microphone slot  612  and controls  614  that enable the user to control the volume of the signal received by earphone unit  600 . In addition, an “end-send” switch  621  may be included in microphone unit  610  to facilitate use with stereo cell phones and the like. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates another exemplary diagram of an earphone set, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The earphone set may comprise earphones  700 , which may be, for example, earphone  300  of  FIG. 3   a . The earphones  700  may be connected via a wire  705  to a plug  715 . The plug  715  may be used to connect the earphones  700  to any device with an audio output port. The earphone set may also comprise a shirt clip  720 , which may be utilized to fasten the wires to a user&#39;s clothing. The clip  720  may be stationary or adjustable. The earphone set may also comprise an in-line microphone unit  710  and a directional microphone  730  at the end of a gooseneck  725 . The in-line microphone unit  710  may, for example, comprise controls  714  that enable the user to control the volume of the signal received by the microphone  730 . In addition, an “end-send” switch  726  can be included in microphone unit  700  to facilitate use with stereo cell phones and the like. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the design of the earphones in conjunction with the ear tip used for insertion into a user&#39;s ear may ensure a comfortable and complete seal to the ear canal. As a result, surrounding noises may be eliminated and the level of noise may be greatly reduced. In some noise situations such as, for example, an airplane environment where the noise level may be typically around 80 dBA, an embodiment of the present invention, may reduce the noise level to 40-45 dBA, which may be equivalent to the noise level in a typical quiet living room environment. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the earphones may provide sounds without exaggerated bass and without high frequency sounds or feedback noise, and without muffled high frequency noises, hence providing sounds close to a live performance, for example, in a situation where a user may be listening to a performing artist. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the earphones may provide a 25-band accuracy score of 94% or higher, which is at least 2-4% higher than any previous accuracy scores known. In the past capacitors have been used in parallel with the resistor in series with the receiver to increase the high frequency response. To achieve the accuracy score of 94%, a resistor (82 Ohms) is placed in series with the receiver, and the capacitor (1 uF) placed in parallel with the receiver. As a result, the frequency response may be decreased in the frequency region above 10 kHz and increased in the 8 kHz region. This method may run contrary to the previous teachings of system designers, but may effectively increase the accuracy score. Accuracy score may be calculated based on the deviation from the frequency response. In comparison, some of the marketed earphones that are widely used have accuracy scores such as: 55%, 68%, 64%, 50%, 80%, and 41%. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the earphones may provide noise isolation, which may effectively be used in reducing background noise. When background is present it may be just as important to isolate noise, as it is to have response frequency. The earphones of the present invention may isolate background noise for removal of noise to provide maximum response accuracy. The earphones may provide about 40-45 dB noise reduction. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an exemplary plot of fidelity rating versus accuracy scores. As this illustrates, for at least 25 years, it has been known that fidelity ratings can be accurately predicted from the accuracy of the frequency response. Published by Mead C. Killion, Ph.D. Thesis Northwestern University, 1979 “Design and Evaluation of High Fidelity Hearing Aids.” This was reconfirmed recently in a paper appearing in the January 2004 issue of the journal Hearing Review (Myths that Discourage Improvements in Hearing Aid Design). 
       FIG. 9   a  illustrates a plot of a frequency response of an earphone. This plot illustrates the high accuracy scores of previous earphones as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,070, filed Dec. 19, 1996, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.  FIG. 9   b  illustrates the frequency response, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The frequency response of  FIG. 9   b  corresponds to the circuitry with the capacitor placed in parallel with the receiver as shown in  FIG. 3   c.    
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the seal the earphones may provide to the ear canal may be stable, and may not be affected by any shifting and movement by the user. The ear tip may be, for example, a three-flange ear tip such as the ear tip  206  of  FIG. 2 . The ear tip may alternatively be a foam ear tip, which may be compressed, pushed in the ear, and allowed to expand to the shape of the ear, hence providing a tight seal to the ear canal. 
     Earphones of the present invention may be used with any device that plays audio such as, for example, a MP3 players, laptops, personal computers, CD players, airplane audio panels, etc. The earphones&#39; performance may be similar regardless of the device and the type of music played. 
     While the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.