Abstract:
Earphones are provided. A microphone and a speaker are arranged side by side with respect to the direction facing a user&#39;s earhole, and a passageway through which a sound moves between the microphone and the outside and a passageway through which a sound moves between the speaker and the outside are divided to be blocked from each other. The earphones can provide good productivity and enhance reliability of products by reducing a defect rate.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation application, claiming the benefit under §365(c), of an International application filed on Apr. 17, 2014 and assigned application number PCT/KR2014/003342, which claimed the benefit of a Korean patent application filed on Aug. 21, 2013 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office and assigned Serial number 10-2013-0099152, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates to earphones having a microphone formed integrally. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0003]    Mobile phones keep evolving to carry out innovative functions which are usable in users&#39; lives due to the intimate relations between the mobile phones and the users. Especially, owing to tremendous spread of smart phones evolved to have the computer functions, mobile phones have various functions, such as listening to music, watching videos and playing motion picture games, as well as the voice call and text communication functions of the mobile phones. 
         [0004]    When a user uses various functions requiring sound generation using the mobile phone, the user uses earphones not to cause a noise damage to others. 
         [0005]    Moreover, earphones are required to hear a clear sound isolated from outside noise when the user makes a voice call. Therefore, there are earphones equipped with a microphone such that a user can make a voice call with earphones in. 
         [0006]    In general, the microphone may be mounted on a cable of the earphones or an earphone module. Out of them, the earphones according to the present disclosure are earphones having such a microphone mounted on the earphone module. 
         [0007]    In connection with technology to mount the microphone on the earphone module, there is Korean Patent No. 10-1092958 entitled an ‘earset’ (hereinafter, called ‘prior art’). 
         [0008]    According to the prior art, the earset includes a soundproof member inside a housing, and a microphone and a speaker arranged in parallel. 
         [0009]    However, such a prior art has the following problems. 
         [0010]    First, the earset which has the microphone and the speaker combined to the soundproof member deteriorates productivity because manufacturing costs are increased and there is a difficulty in the assembly. 
         [0011]    Second, the earset is restricted in a space to mount the microphone and the speaker in consideration of the size of the earphone module and deteriorates reliability of products due to degradation of the speaker performance. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0012]    Aspects of the present disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior arts, and it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide earphones which have a simple structure even though a microphone is mounted on an earphone module. 
         [0013]    It is another aspect of the present disclosure to provide earphones which can maximize a mounting space of a speaker. 
         [0014]    According to an aspect of the present disclosure, earphones are provided. The earphones includes a pair of earphone modules, each of which converts an electrical signal into a sound signal and outputs the sound signal; and a cable for transferring the electrical signal to the pair of earphone modules, wherein one of the earphone modules includes: a microphone for converting a sound into an electrical signal; a speaker for converting the electrical signal received through the cable into a sound; a housing which accommodates the microphone and the speaker in an inner space thereof, the housing having a path hole which makes the inner space communicate with the outside so as to make the outside sound come into the microphone or makes the sound generated from the speaker go out; and a partition element for partitioning the path hole of the housing into a first passageway and a second passageway which are blocked from each other. The first passageway makes the outside sound move toward the microphone, and the second passageway makes the sound generated from the speaker move to the outside, and the speaker is spaced apart from the microphone at a predetermined interval in such a way as to be arranged side by side with the microphone and arranged farther from a user&#39;s earhole than the microphone. 
         [0015]    The partition element is formed in such a way that the second passageway surrounds the first passageway. 
         [0016]    The partition element is formed in a cylindrical shape and has different spans at three or more points. 
         [0017]    The partition element is formed integrally with the housing. 
         [0018]    A sealed air layer is disposed between the microphone and the speaker. 
         [0019]    In another aspect of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides earphones including: a pair of earphone modules, each of which converts an electrical signal into a sound signal and outputs the sound signal; and a cable for transferring the electrical signal to the pair of earphone modules, wherein one of the earphone modules includes: a speaker for converting the electrical signal received through the cable into a sound; a microphone for converting a sound into an electrical signal; a housing which accommodates the speaker and the microphone in an inner space thereof, the housing having a path hole which makes the inner space communicate with the outside so as to make the sound generated from the speaker go out or to make the outside sound come into the microphone; and a partition element for partitioning the path hole of the housing into a first passageway and a second passageway which are blocked from each other. The first passageway makes the sound generated from the speaker move to the outside and the second passageway makes the outside sound move toward the microphone, and the microphone is spaced apart from the speaker at a predetermined interval in such a way as to be arranged side by side with the speaker and arranged farther from a user&#39;s earhole than the speaker. 
         [0020]    A sealed air layer is disposed at the rear of the microphone. 
         [0021]    The partition element is formed in such a way that the second passageway surrounds the first passageway. 
         [0022]    The partition element is formed in a cylindrical shape and has different spans at three or more points. 
         [0023]    The partition element is formed integrally with the housing. 
         [0024]    A sealed air layer is disposed between the microphone and the speaker. 
         [0025]    The earphones according to the present disclosure has the following effects. 
         [0026]    First, the earphones enhances productivity because it has a simple structure, is easy to assemble and reduces manufacturing costs. 
         [0027]    Second, the earphones can maximize mounting spaces of the microphone and the speaker because the microphone and the speaker are arranged in series based on the user&#39;s earhole direction, so that the user can use the existing microphone and speaker proved in their performances, thereby enhancing reliability of the products. 
         [0028]    Third, the earphones can minimize sound interference between the microphone and the speaker by the air layer, thereby enhancing reliability of the products. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0029]    The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0030]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of earphones according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 
           [0031]      FIG. 2  is a schematically sectional view of an earphone module applied to the earphones of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0032]      FIG. 3  is a reference view for showing the earphone module of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0033]      FIG. 4  is a schematically sectional view of an earphone module applied to earphones according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
       [0034]    Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0035]    The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness. 
         [0036]    The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
         [0037]    It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces. 
         [0038]    By the term “substantially” it is meant that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide. 
         [0039]    Reference will be now made in detail to the various embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the attached drawings. For conciseness and clarification of descriptions, repeated or known technologies will be omitted or compressed. 
         [0040]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , earphones  100  according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure includes a pair of earphone modules  110  and  120  and a cable  130 . 
         [0041]    The pair of earphone modules  110  and  120  respectively convert an electrical signal received through the cable  130  into a sound and output the sound. One of the earphone modules  110  and  120  has a microphone which will be described later. 
         [0042]    The cable  130  has a jack (J) connected with a mobile phone and transfers the electrical signal to the pair of earphone modules  110  and  120 . 
         [0043]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the earphone module  110  which is disposed on one of the earphone modules  110  and  120  includes a microphone  111 , a speaker  112 , a housing  113 , a partition wall  114  and an elastic rubber  115 . 
         [0044]    The microphone  111  converts a sound received from the outside into an electrical signal. The converted electrical signal is sent to a mobile phone through the cable  130 . 
         [0045]    The speaker  112  converts the electrical signal received through the cable  130  into a sound and outputs the sound. Such a speaker  112  is spaced apart from the microphone  111  at a predetermined interval in such a way as to be arranged side by side with the microphone  111  and arranged farther from a user&#39;s earhole than the microphone  111 . That is, the microphone  111  and the speaker  112  are arranged side by side with each other in such a way as to be located in series in order of the user&#39;s earhole, the microphone  111  and the speaker  112 . 
         [0046]    The housing  113  accommodates the microphone  111  and the speaker  112  in an inner space S thereof. Such a housing  113  has a path hole PH which makes the inner space S communicate with the outside so as to make the outside sound come into the microphone  111  or to make the sound generated from the speaker  112  go out. 
         [0047]    The partition wall  114  serves as a partition element to divide the path hole PH into a first passageway PW 1  and a second passageway PW 2 . Such a partition wall  114  blocks the first passageway PW 1  and the second passageway PW 2  from each other. Therefore, the first passageway PW 1  makes the outside sound move toward the microphone  111 , and the second passageway PW 2  makes the sound generated from the speaker  112  move to the outside. Of course, it is preferable that the partition wall  114  be injection-molded integrally with the housing  113 . 
         [0048]    Furthermore, it is preferable that the partition wall  114  be formed in a cylindrical shape so that second passageway PW 2  can surround the first passageway PW 1 . Moreover, in order to collect the outside sound into the microphone  111  or output the sound generated from the speaker  112  to the outside, more preferably, the partition wall  114  has different spans at three or more points P 1 , P 2  and P 3 , because there is a need to design a width of a part A which comes into contact with the outside in consideration of sizes of the microphone  111  and the speaker  112 , collection efficiency of the outside sound, and output efficiency of the generated sound. 
         [0049]    Additionally, a sealed air layer AL which is formed using the partition wall  114  is formed between the microphone  111  and the speaker  112 . Such an air layer AL reduces interference of the outside sound or the sound generated from the speaker  112 . 
         [0050]    The elastic rubber  115  is disposed to surround the microphone  111 . Such an elastic rubber  115  serves as a sound-absorbing material to reduce interference of the outside sound or the sound generated from the speaker  112 . 
         [0051]    According to the earphone module  110 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , the outside sound goes toward the microphone  111  (see the arrow a in  FIG. 3 ) through the first passageway PW 1 , but the sound generated from the speaker  112  goes out (see the arrow b in  FIG. 3 ) through the second passageway PW 2 . Therefore, the sound generated from the speaker  112  does not have any influence on the microphone  111 . 
         [0052]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , an earphone module  210  applied to earphones according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure includes a speaker  211 , a microphone  212 , a housing  213 , a partition wall  214  and an elastic rubber  215 . 
         [0053]    The speaker  211  converts the electrical signal received through the cable into a sound and outputs the sound. 
         [0054]    The microphone  212  converts a sound received from the outside into an electrical signal. The converted electrical signal is sent to a mobile phone through the cable. Such a microphone  212  is spaced apart from the speaker  211  at a predetermined interval in such a way as to be arranged side by side with the speaker  211  and arranged farther from a user&#39;s earhole than the speaker  211 . That is, the speaker  211  and the microphone  212  are arranged side by side with each other in such a way as to be located in series in order of the user&#39;s earhole, the speaker  211  and the microphone  212 . 
         [0055]    The housing  213  accommodates the speaker  211  and the microphone  212  in an inner space S thereof. Such a housing  213  has a path hole PH which makes the inner space S communicate with the outside so as to make the outside sound come into the microphone  212  or to make the sound generated from the speaker  211  go out. 
         [0056]    The partition wall  214  serves as a partition element to divide the path hole PH into a first passageway PW 1  and a second passageway PW 2 . The first passageway PW 1  makes the sound generated from the speaker  211  move to the outside, and the second passageway PW 2  makes the outside sound move toward the microphone  212 . 
         [0057]    Likewise, it is preferable that the partition wall  214  be injection-molded integrally with the housing  213  and be formed in a cylindrical shape so that the second passageway PW 2  can surround the first passageway PW 1 . Of course, preferably, the partition wall  214  has different spans at three or more points. 
         [0058]    Additionally, a first sealed air layer AL 1  which is formed using the partition wall  214  is formed between the speaker  211  and the microphone  212 , and a second sealed air layer AL 2  is formed at the rear of the microphone  212 . The first air layer AL 1  minimizes that rear vibration of the speaker  211  interferes in the microphone  212 , and the second air layer AL 2  reduces interference between the outside noise and the sound generated from the speaker  211 . 
         [0059]    The elastic rubber  215  is disposed to surround the microphone  212 . 
         [0060]    According to the earphone module  210 , the outside sound goes toward the microphone  212  through the second passageway PW 2 , but the sound generated from the speaker  211  goes out through the first passageway PW 1 . 
         [0061]    As described above, while the present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to the example embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the above embodiments of the present disclosure are all exemplified and the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments. Therefore, it would be understood that the technical and protective scope of the present disclosure shall be defined by the technical idea as defined by the following claims and the equivalences. 
       EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS 
       [0000]    
       
           100 : earphones 
           110 ,  120 ,  210 : earphone module 
           111 ,  212 : microphone 
           112 ,  211 : speaker 
           113 ,  213 : housing 
           114 ,  214 : partition wall 
         S: inner space 
         PH: path hole 
         PW 1 : first passageway, PW 2 : second passageway 
         AL: air layer 
         AL 1 : first air layer, AL 2 : second air layer