Abstract:
A light weight and comfortable ear mount for a personal audio-set is disclosed. The ear mount conforms with the antihelix of a wearer&#39;s ear, thereby operating substantially as a compression spring between the wearer&#39;s antihelix and tragus, to operably secure the personal audio-set in place. In a preferred embodiment, the ear-mount is substantially kidney-shaped and includes an opening to prevent the total occlusion of the ear canal by the personal audio-set. Alternatively, the ear-mount includes a loop of material sized to operably engage the antihelix of the wearer&#39;s ear. The ear-mount is preferably reversible to allow it to be placed in either the wearer&#39;s left or right ear.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. application Ser. No. 12/360,845 entitled “Antihelix-Conforming Ear-Mount for Personal Audio-Set”, filed Jan. 27, 2009, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/358,120 entitled “Antihelix-Conforming Ear-Mount For Personal Audio-Set”, filed on Feb. 3, 2003, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/361,490 entitled “Antihelix-Conforming Ear-Mount For Personal Audio-Set”, filed on Mar. 2, 2002, and which is a continuation-in-part of, and claims priority to, the following U.S. Design Applications: U.S. Design Application No. 29/161,922, filed on Jun. 5, 2002, which issued as U.S. Design Pat. No. D469,755 on Feb. 4, 2003; U.S. Design Application No. 29/161,923, filed on Jun. 5, 2002, which issued as U.S. Design Pat. No. D470,128 on Feb. 11, 2003; U.S. Design Application No. 29/161,924, filed on Jun. 5, 2002, which issued as U.S. Design Pat. No. D470,122 on Feb. 11, 2003; and U.S. Design Application No. 29/161,926, filed on Jun. 5, 2002, which issued as U.S. Design Pat. No. D470,123 on Feb. 11, 2003, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a mount for a headset and the like that compresses to conform with the inner ridge of a wearer&#39;s ear known as the antihelix, thereby comfortably and detachably securing the headset in place. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Personal audio-sets, commonly known as headphones, earphones, headsets, and the like, are gaining in popularity. The typical audio-set includes a frame containing an earphone which is usually positioned over or in a wearer&#39;s ear. In cases where the audio-set is a headset, a microphone is also typically positioned on the frame near the wearer&#39;s mouth. 
     It is important that the frame of the audio-set securely hold these components in their proper places with respect to the wearer, without being unduly heavy and without causing discomfort to the wearer. Historically, the frames of personal audio-sets have included a headband that the wearer positions over or behind their head to hold an earphone portion over one or both ears. However, some headband-type personal audio-sets inadvertently compress the wearer&#39;s head and/or ears thereby causing discomfort, particularly when the personal audio-set is worn for extended periods. 
     More recently, personal audio-sets have been mounted to a wearer without using a headband. For example, headphones have been clipped around a wearer&#39;s ear as shown in Marshall (U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,171). However, these types of mounts are relatively bulky structures and some wearers feel discomfort supporting the personal audio-set in this matter. In addition, most ear clip designs do not easily lend themselves to being worn over either a wearer&#39;s left or right ear. 
     Also, some personal audio-set rely on ear plug-type mounts, which are also commonly known as ear bud-type mounts, that are either physically wedged either into the wearer&#39;s ear canal or hooked on the intertragal notch of the wearer&#39;s ear as shown in Nagayoshi et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,253). However, the size of a wearer&#39;s ear and ear canal differ greatly between wearers. Accordingly, different sized ear plugs must typically be offered to account for these differences in ear and ear canal sizes. Moreover, since the entire weight of the assembly is supported by such a small portion of the ear, these types of mounts feel uncomfortable for some wearers. 
     In addition, in order to optimize the sound qualities of the audio-set, it is desirable for the sound pressure producing device, such as the headphone driver or other audio transducer, to be pneumatically coupled to the tympanic membrane (also known as the “eardrum”) via the external auditory meatus (also known as the “ear canal”). However, many typical ear bud-type mounts permit an excessive amount of pneumatic leakage between the ear bud and the wearer&#39;s ear. This excessive leakage is usually perceived as a loss in the low frequency region of the sound transmission spectrum. 
     More recently, some manufacturers of ear bud-type mounts have attempted to reduce this pneumatic leakage by completely occluding the ear canal with the ear bud. While such occlusion blocks a large portion of background noise, they also tend to increase the passive attenuation of the system. Accordingly, such designs are often perceived as unnatural by the wearer. In addition, under some circumstances, such as when using a headset in an office or while driving, it is undesirable to completely block all ambient noise by occluding the ear canal with the ear bud. Accordingly, such ear bud designs tend to be undesirable for many uses. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, despite the available improvements offered by personal audio-set ear-mounts, there remains a need for an ear-mount that is lightweight, not bulky, and comfortable to wear, that also minimizes pneumatic leakage between the ear bud and the ear without substantially increasing the passive attenuation of the system. In addition to other benefits that will become apparent in the following disclosure, the present invention fulfills these needs. 
     The present invention is a personal audio-set, such as a headphone, earphone, or headset, that includes a mounting portion and an ear bud. The mounting portion preferably has an ear bud mounting portion and an antihelix mounting portion. The antihelix mounting portion is preferably a band or loop of resilient material that has an opening therethrough. The band compresses into the opening to conform with the antihelix of the wearer, thereby detachably securing the personal audio-set within a wearer&#39;s ear. More preferably, the mounting portion is substantially kidney-shaped and biased to a neutral position such that the antihelix mounting portion acts like a compression spring. 
     The ear bud contains a headphone driver or other audio transducer (collectively referred to herein as a “speaker” or “headphone”) and is operably secured to the wearer&#39;s ear at the ear&#39;s tragus. Accordingly, the weight of the audio-set is evenly distributed between a surface area of the ear defined by a relatively large portion of the wearer&#39;s antihelix at the mounting portion and the ear&#39;s tragus at the ear bud. The biasing force of the mounting portion urges the mounting portion to conform with the unique shape of each wearer&#39;s antihelix, thereby detachably securing the personal audio-set to the wearer&#39;s ear and forcing the ear bud against the wearer&#39;s tragus. 
     The opening in the mounting loop prevents the total occlusion of the ear canal, thereby allowing desirable ambient sounds to be heard by the wearer, while still allowing the headphone driver to remain in substantially pneumatic communication with the wearer&#39;s eardrum. 
     Preferably, the mounting portion and personal audio-set are shaped to fit in both a wearer&#39;s left or right ear. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an isometric, front view of a personal audio-set having a large sized mounting portion in a neutral position and an elongate boom microphone operably secured thereto in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the personal audio-set of  FIG. 1  showing a possible orientation with respect to a wearer&#39;s left ear. 
         FIG. 3  is an isometric, back view of the personal audio-set of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is an isometric, front view of a personal audio-set having a small sized mounting portion a neutral position with a microphone operably secured thereto in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric, side view of the personal audio-set of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a back view of the personal audio-set of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of the personal audio-set of  FIG. 4  showing a possible orientation with respect to a wearer&#39;s right ear. 
         FIG. 8  is a back view of a personal audio-set with medium sized mounting portion in a neutral position and a headphone operably secured thereto in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is an isometric view of an alternative personal audio-set having a mounting portion in a neutral position in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a side view of the personal audio-set of  FIG. 9  showing a possible orientation with respect to a wearer&#39;s right ear. 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of the personal audio-set of  FIG. 9  showing a possible orientation with respect to a wearer&#39;s left ear. 
         FIG. 12  is as side view of an alternative personal audio-set having an alternative ear bud and showing a possible orientation with respect to a wearer&#39;s right ear. 
         FIG. 13  is an enlarged isometric view of an alternative personal audio-set having an earphone with a mounting portion in a neutral position in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a side view of the personal audio-set of  FIG. 13  showing a possible orientation with respect to a wearer&#39;s right ear. 
         FIG. 15  is a side view of the personal audio-set of  FIG. 13  showing a possible orientation with respect to a wearer&#39;s left ear. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A personal audio-set  10 , such as a head phone, earphone  10 ′ (FIGS.  8  and  13 - 15 ), or headset  10 ″ ( FIGS. 1-7 , and  9 - 12 ), that includes a compressible mounting portion  12  that compresses to conform with the antihelix  90  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92  thereby detachably securing the personal audio-set  10  within the wearer&#39;s ear  92  is disclosed in  FIGS. 1-15 . 
     A. Kidney-Shaped Ear Loop 
     In a first preferred embodiment, shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , the personal audio-set  10  is a headset  10 ″ having a frame  14  with a boom microphone  16  extending longitudinally from an ear bud  18 . The ear bud  18  preferably contains driver or other audio transducer (collectively referred to herein as a “speaker  20 ” or earphone), and wiring (not shown) usually extends from the headset  10 ″ to operably connect the headset  10 ″ to an appropriate audio device (not shown). 
     As best shown in  FIG. 2 , the ear bud  18  is sized to be received within a wearer&#39;s ear  92  such that the speaker  20  is positioned over the ear canal  94  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92  with the outer portion  24  of the ear bud  18  positioned adjacent to the tragus  96  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92 . 
     A compressible mounting portion  12 , which is biased to a neutral position shown in  FIG. 1 , extends from the frame  14  and is operably secured to the ear bud  18 . Preferably, the mounting portion  12  includes an ear bud mounting portion  21  and an antihelix mounting portion  23 . The ear bud mounting portion  21  is operably secured to the ear bud  18 . Preferably, the ear bud mounting portion  21  is pivotally secured around the ear bud  18  defining a pivot  25 . Accordingly, the position of the frame  14  relative to the mounting portion  12  may be adjusted about the pivot  25 . 
     More preferably, the ear bud mounting portion  21  is constructed from a resilient cushioning material such that the outer portion  27  of the ear bud mounting portion  21  contacts and cushions the wearer&#39;s ear  92 . Moreover, the ear bud mounting portion  21  preferably encircles the speaker  20  and has a thickness sufficiently large to operably engage the wearer&#39;s concha  97  around the ear canal as shown, thereby providing a quasi-pneumatic seal between the speaker  20  and the wearer&#39;s ear canal. 
     One known material having these properties is silicone rubber. One brand of silicone rubber having particularly desirable characteristics for this purposes has a Shore A hardness of about 50, a tensile strength of about 10.5 MPa, and a Specific Gravity of about 1.13 g/cm 3 . Such a product is commercially available. For example, the Dow Corning Corporation of Midland, Mich., USA sells such a product under the trademark SILASTIC NEW GP  500 . 
     The antihelix mounting portion  23  extends from the ear bud mounting portion  21  and is sized to operably engage the wearer&#39;s antihelix  90 . The mounting portion  12  is preferably a loop of resilient material  26  that compresses substantially in the direction of arrow  30  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) to conform with the particular shape of the antihelix  90  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92 . Accordingly, the mounting portion  12  functions essentially as a compression spring. 
     More preferably, the mounting portion  12  is substantially kidney-shaped, as best shown in  FIG. 1 , defining an outer edge  31  that operably engages the antihelix  90  of the wearer and a concave inner edge  33  sized to avoid the wearer&#39;s crus of helix  99 . The loop of resilient material  26  preferably defines a substantially kidney-shaped opening  35  thereby allowing the loop of resilient material  26  to compress into the opening  35  during use. Moreover, this opening  35  also prevents the speaker  20  from totally occluding the ear canal thereby allowing some ambient noise to be heard by the wearer without unduly compromising the quasi-pneumatic seal between the speaker  20  and wearer&#39;s ear canal formed by the mounting portion  12 . Acoustic testing has confirmed the benefits of this structure. 
     A wearer detachably secures the personal audio-set  10  within one of their ears  92  by compressing the mounting portion  12  substantially in the direction of arrow  30  ( FIG. 1 ) while aligning the mounting portion  12  with their ear&#39;s antihelix  90 . He or she then positions the ear bud  18  adjacent to their tragus  96  and releases the mounting portion  12 . The mounting portion  12  seeks to return to its neutral position thereby urging the mounting portion  12  to conform to the shape of the antihelix  90  and urging the ear bud  18  against the wearer&#39;s tragus  96 . Accordingly, the personal audio-set is secured to the wearer&#39;s ear  92 , thereby securing the personal audio-set within the ear and evenly distributing the pressure along a large portion the wearer&#39;s antihelix  90  and tragus  96 . 
     Preferably, the mounting portion  12  is reversible so that it may fit equally well in either the wearer&#39;s left ear ( 92   b ,  FIG. 2 ) or right ear ( 92   a ,  FIG. 7 ). The mounting portion  12  of the present embodiment may be reversed simply by detaching the ear bud mounting portion  21  from around the ear bud  18  and turning the mounting portion  12  around so that the former exterior surface  37   a  is now the interior surface  37   b , then re-attaching the ear bud  18  to the ear bud mounting portion  21 . 
     More preferably, the mounting portion is available with different sized antihelix mounting portions. For example, a mounting portion  12  having a small sized antihelix mounting portion  23  is shown in  FIGS. 4-7 , a medium-sized antihelix mounting portion  23  is shown in  FIG. 8 , and a large sized antihelix mounting portion  23  is shown in  FIGS. 1-3 . These different sized mounting portions are preferably sold as a set and allow a wearer the opportunity to select the optimally sized mounting portion that best conforms with their ear. 
     Similarly, the personal audio device operably secured to the mounting portion can be an elongate boom microphone  16  as shown in  FIGS. 1-3 , a shorter microphone assembly  16 ′ as shown in  FIGS. 4-7 , or a simple driver  20  as shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     B. Alternative Ear Loop 
     In a first preferred embodiment, shown in  FIGS. 9-11 , the personal audio-set  10  is a headset  10 ″ having a frame  14  with a boom microphone  16  extending longitudinally from an ear bud  18 . The ear bud  18  preferably contains a speaker  20  and wiring  22  ( FIG. 2 ) extends from the headset  10 ″ to operably connect the headset  10 ″ to an appropriate audio device (not shown). 
     The ear bud  18  is sized to be received within a wearer&#39;s ear  92  such that the speaker  20  is positioned over the ear canal  94  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92  with the outer portion  24  of the ear bud  18  positioned adjacent to the tragus  96  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92 , as shown best shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     A compressible mounting portion  12 , which is biased to a neutral position shown in  FIG. 1 , extends from the frame  14 . Preferably, the mounting portion  12  is sized to be operably received against the antihelix  90  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92 . More preferably, the mounting portion  12  is a loop of resilient material  26  that compresses in the direction of arrow  30  ( FIG. 9 ) to conform with the particular shape of antihelix  90  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92  so as to function essentially as a compression spring. 
     A wearer detachably secures the personal audio-set  10  within one of their ears  92  by compressing the mounting portion  12  in the direction of arrow  30  ( FIG. 9 ) while aligning the mounting portion  12  with their ear&#39;s antihelix  90 . He or she then positions the ear bud  18  adjacent to their tragus  96  and releases the mounting portion  12 . The mounting portion  12  seeks to return to its neutral position thereby urging the mounting portion  12  to conform to the shape of the antihelix  90  and urging the ear bud  18  against the wearer&#39;s tragus  96 . Accordingly, the personal audio-set is secured to the wearer&#39;s ear  92 . 
     Preferably, the ear bud  18  includes padding to comfort the connection between the ear bud  18  and the wearer&#39;s tragus  96 . Similarly, the mounting portion  12  is shaped to conform with the wearer&#39;s antihelix  90 , thereby evenly distributing pressure along a large portion the wearer&#39;s antihelix  90 . 
     More preferably, the mounting portion and personal audio-set are shaped to fit in either a wearer&#39;s right ear  92   a  as shown  FIG. 10  or his left ear  92   b  as shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 12 , the ear bud  18  can also be a pad that rests over the wearer&#39;s ear canal. The pad includes an outer portion  24 , sized to operably engage the tragus  96  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92  when the mounting portion is operably secured to the wearer&#39;s antihelix  90  as shown in  FIG. 12 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 13-15 , the personal audio-set  10  can also be an earphone  10 ′ without a boom microphone extending therefrom. The earphone  10 ′ includes a frame  14  having an ear bud  18 . The ear bud preferably contains a speaker  20  and wiring  22  ( FIGS. 14 and 15 ) extending from the earphone  10 ′ to operably connect the earphone  10 ′ to an appropriate audio device (not shown). 
     The ear bud  18  is sized to be received within a wearer&#39;s ear  92  such that the speaker  20  is positioned over the ear canal  94  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92  with the outer portion  24  of the ear bud  18  positioned adjacent to the tragus  96  of the wearer&#39;s ear  92 , as best shown in  FIG. 14  (right ear  92   a ) and  FIG. 15  (left ear  92   b ). The mounting portion  12  of the first preferred embodiment is operably secured to the frame  14 , thereby allowing the earphone  10 ′ to be detachably secured to either the wearer&#39;s right or left ears  92   a  or  92   b , respectively. 
     If desired, separate earphones  10 ′ can be secured in both the right and left ears  92   a  and  92   b , respectively, of the wearer, thereby providing stereo sound to the wearer, and allowing the two earphones  10 ′ to operate like a pair of headphones. 
     Having described and illustrated the principles of our invention with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be apparent that the invention can be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from such principles. In view of the many possible embodiments to which the principles may be put, it should be recognized that the detailed embodiment is illustrative only and should not be taken as limiting the scope of our invention. Accordingly, we claim as our invention all such modifications as may come within the scope and spirit of the following claims and equivalents thereto.