PROTECTIVE, MULTIFUNCTION EARBUD SYSTEM

A protective, multifunction earbud system. The earbuds are shaped to fit within an ear canal and a concha of an ear of a wearer and provide hearing protection and audio outputs. The earbuds couple wirelessly to a smartphone or tablet and have two input mechanisms: a touch surface used to control music and telephone calls, and a physical button used to control hearing protection measures.

BACKGROUND

Earbuds continue to be a valuable tool for many people and are used for much more than just listening to music. Nearly every person today has a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or other electronic device that is able to connect with earbuds to provide directions, participate in virtual reality and augmented reality experiences, and more. Nevertheless, there remains a need in the art for audio devices to protect the wearer's delicate ears in an increasingly noisy environment.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to A protective, multifunction earbud system including a left earbud and a right earbud. Each of the left earbud and right earbud individually includes a body having a kidney shape and being configured to house electronics including a battery, logic, wireless communication means, a microphone, and a speaker, and a stem protruding from the body and being acoustically coupled to the speaker and configured to extend into an ear canal of a wearer. The earbuds also include a cushion attached to the stem and being configured to facilitate a comfortable fit within the ear canal. The body fits within a concha of the ear of the wearer. The earbuds include a touch surface on the body and being oriented to face outwardly from the wearer's ear that is associated with a first plurality of predetermined commands. The earbuds also include a mode swap button comprising a physical button located on a perimeter of the body that is associated with a second plurality of predetermined commands.

Further embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a protective multifunctional earbud that includes electronics comprising logic, a battery, a wireless transceiver, a microphone, and a speaker. The earbud also includes a body housing the electronics and being shaped to fit within a concha of an ear of a wearer of the earbud, and a stem protruding from the body and being configured to fit within an ear canal of the wearer and to channel sound into the ear canal of the wearer. There is a touch surface on the body that is responsive to capacitive touch inputs that are for audio controls, and a physical button on the body separate from the touch surface that is responsive to presses. Presses of the physical button alter a hearing protection level of the earbud.

Still further embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a system for protecting a wearer's hearing while providing audio outputs. The system includes an earbud having a stem that fits within a wearer's ear canal and a body integral to the stem that fits within a concha of the wearer's ear. The earbud also includes a touch surface on the earbud being configured to receive touch inputs that control music and telephone call operation of a smartphone to which the earbud is wirelessly coupled, and logic in the earbud that receives incoming sound, digitally compresses the sound, and presents the sound to the speaker, wherein the logic limits output sound to a decibel limit of approximately 85 decibels.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Below is a detailed description according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.FIG.1is a side view of a protective, multifunction earbud system100according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The system100includes a left earbud102and a right earbud103that are placed within an ear of a user and deliver audio into the user's ear including music, telephone calls, and voice instructions to and from a phone or other electronic device. The protective, multifunction earbud system100also provides for hearing protection in addition to audio outputs.FIG.2is a top view of the protective, multifunction earbud system100according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Elements of the system100are shown in bothFIGS.1and2where like references indicate like features.

The earbuds102,103are symmetrical and otherwise indistinguishable in shape and appearance. Throughout this disclosure reference made to a single earbud, left or right, applies equally to the other earbud without loss of generality. In some cases, there are differences between left and right, and except where specifically claimed, characteristics of the left earbud can also be characteristics of the right earbud, and vice versa.

The earbuds102,103include a body106that houses electronics, including logic, battery, wireless communication means, a microphone, and a speaker. The earbuds102,103also include a stem108that protrudes away from the body106and into the ear canal of the user. The earbuds102,103can fit within the concha of the ear. The stem108includes a cushion110that is a flexible, soft, pliable component that allows a comfortable fit within the ear of the user that is comfortable enough for lengthy, all-day use.

The earbuds102,103include a touch surface112, also referred to herein as an “input surface” or a “surface.” The surface112is a generally flat, kidney-shaped surface that conforms to a concha of a user's ear and is used as a capacitive touch input surface such as is found in electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets. The earbuds102,103also include a mode swap button114that is a deflectable button that may be a flexible membrane or other suitable button whose operation is given in detail later in this disclosure. In some embodiments the mode swap button114is positioned on the perimeter of the body106. In some embodiments the mode swap button114is at a top edge of the body106.

FIG.3is a close-up, side view of a left earbud102according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The surface112is visible and may have a logo116. The logo116can be formed of shaped holes that can serve as microphone ports. In addition, there may be additional microphone ports118in an attractive, arrow pattern. The cushion110is visible protruding behind the earbud102.

FIG.4is a partial view of the protective, multifunction earbud system100according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The left earbud102has components removed to avoid obscuring features within the earbud102. The earbud102includes electronics122such as a printed circuit board, logic, memory, etc. and other common features of small electronic devices. The stem (not shown) is also removed showing an audio port120that channels sound from the speaker (not shown, within the electronics122) to the ear of the user.

FIG.5is a partial view of the protective, multifunction earbud system100according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The back of the earbuds102,103includes contacts124that are used to charge a battery within the earbuds102,103.

FIG.6is a side view of a left earbud102and associated controls according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The earbud system100allows for audio such as music and telephone calls and interactions with a smart phone or other electronic device using a voice assistant such as Apple's SIRI or Amazon's ALEXA or the like. In addition, the earbud system100allows for hearing protection that is seamlessly integrated into the functionality of the earbud system100. The inputs for the earbud102are through the surface112, and the mode swap button114.

The mode swap button114enables the protective, multifunction earbud system100to toggle between modes of hearing protection. 1× hearing protection level is a natural, unaltered audio setting in which no mitigation, dampening, or muting of incoming audio is applied. Levels 2×, 3×, 4×, 5×, and 6× are reachable via a single button press that progresses the status in increments of one level. In some embodiments the earbud102can give an audible indication of the level such as a voice saying “hearing protection level n.” In other embodiments a series of beeps can be given. The beeps can be different audio levels indicating a level of hearing protection. The mode swap button114is a physical button that depresses when pressed. The mode swap button114can be a flexible membrane, or it can include other resilient features. In some embodiments the mode swap button114can be a capacitive button that gives haptic feedback such as a vibration to indicate a successful press.

In some embodiments the hearing protection measures comprise an upper limit for output sound into the ear of the wearer. In some embodiments the earbuds include logic that receives ambient sound, processes the ambient sound by digitally compressing the sound, and outputting a new digital signal. In the new digital signal, sounds above the upper limit are reduced down to the upper limit. In some embodiments the upper limit is adjustable such as by pressing the mode swap button. In some embodiments the upper limit is approximately 85 decibels. In some embodiments the hearing protection measures include an active noise cancellation signal.

In some embodiments the hearing protection measures offered by the protective, multifunction earbud system100of the present disclosure include volume muting or mitigation such as by dampening or by volume reduction. The system100accordingly operates as a combination earbud and hearing aid. In some embodiments the system100can also provide active noise cancelling that scales from 1-6, 1 being slight, and 6 being significant. In some embodiments the hearing protection measures scale linearly. In other embodiments the hearing protection measures scale non-linearly with the natural scale of human ears.

The input surface112can include a capacitive touch-responsive circuit that is capable of detecting taps, including single and multiple taps, taps of varying timing, timings between taps, etc. The earbuds are operable in a music mode and in a telephone mode. In the music mode, a single tap of the left earbud102on the touch surface112causes audio volume to be diminished. A double tap of the left earbud102on the touch surface112denotes a pause/play command. A triple tap of the left earbud102on the touch surface112effects a skip backward to the previous track. A long press on the left earbud102on the touch surface turns the sound entirely off or entirely on in a toggle.

In the phone mode, a single tap of the left earbud102on the touch surface112causes call volume to be diminished. A double tap of the left earbud102on the touch surface112causes the phone call to be picked up if a call is ringing, and to terminate an active call. A triple tap on the left earbud102on the touch surface112causes an incoming call to be rejected. A rejected call can be sent to voice mail or another outcome based on the settings of the phone to which the earbuds are paired such as via Bluetooth or another wireless protocol.

FIG.7is a side view of a right earbud103and associated controls according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The mode swap button114is identical on this earbud103to the appearance, and operation to the left earbud102except where differences are denoted herein. In the music mode, a single tap of the right earbud103on the touch surface112causes audio volume to be increased. A double tap of the right earbud103on the touch surface112denotes a pause/play command. A triple tap of the right earbud103on the touch surface112effects a skip forward to the next track. A long press on the right earbud103on the touch surface turns the sound entirely off or entirely on in a toggle.

In the phone mode, a single tap of the right earbud103on the touch surface112causes call volume to be increased. A double tap of the right earbud103on the touch surface112causes the phone call to be picked up if a call is ringing, and to terminate an active call. A triple tap on the right earbud103on the touch surface112causes an incoming call to be rejected. A rejected call can be sent to voice mail or another outcome based on the settings of the phone to which the earbuds are paired such as via Bluetooth or another wireless protocol.

FIG.8is a front view of a case130that houses and protects the earbuds of the protective, multifunction earbud system100according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The case includes a lid132and a receptacle134.FIG.9shows the case130according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The case130also includes a hinge136that enables the lid132to remain connected to the receptacle134when opened and closed. The hinge136can be a flexible, resilient member, or a rigid, mechanical hinge.

FIG.10shows the receptacle134with the lid removed according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The hinge136is visible and includes holes135used to secure the hinge136to the lid (not shown). The case130also includes a port138that enables a charging cord to be connected through the case130to the earbuds within. The port can accept all standard cord types, including but not limited to USB in all variations, Apple's Lightning, or any other suitable cord protocol that enables charging and data transfer to and from the earbuds.

FIG.11is a top view of the receptacle134according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The receptacle134includes contacts140that electrically interface with the contacts124shown inFIG.5. The receptacle134also includes beds142for each earbud, right and left accordingly. The case130protects and provides a safe, secure way to charge the earbuds102,103.

The foregoing disclosure hereby enables a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the disclosed systems without undue experimentation. Certain examples are given to for purposes of explanation and are not given in a limiting manner.