Abstract:
Disclosed is an earphones accessory apparatus that can be removably attached to a set of earphones. The earphone accessory may provide a structure that prevents the earphone wires from becoming tangled and facilitates easy insertion and removal of the earphones. The earphone accessory may include a plurality of channel-bearing legs for guiding the earphone wires into a trunk. The channel of at least one of the legs may be discontinuous so as to accommodate, for example, an in-line volume control disposed in one of the earphone wires.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Earphones or headphones are well known in the art. One variety of stereo earphones, often referred to as “earbuds,” typically include a stereo audio plug coupled to a pair of speaker enclosures, or earbuds, via a pair of soft, insulated wires. Typically, the earbuds are appropriately sized and shaped to fit in the opening of the ear canal. In use, the audio plug is coupled to an audio signal source, such as a laptop, music player, or mobile phone. The left and right earbuds are inserted into the user&#39;s left and right ears, respectively, where they are held in place by friction. The wires feeding from the earbuds typically dangle downwards from the ears under their own weight. Because they lack a headband or other rigid structure connecting the speaker housings, earbuds are less prone to structural damage and can be stored more compactly than other types of earphones or headphones. However, earbuds do suffer a number of drawbacks due to the fact that there is no rigid coupling between the earbuds. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0002]    An object of the disclosure is to provide an accessory that can be readily attached to or removed from a set of earbuds that overcomes the drawbacks associated with earbud-style headphones. In one aspect, the disclosure provides an earbud accessory that includes a pair of elongated legs joined by a trunk at one end and spaced to span the width of a human head at the opposite, or terminal, end of the leg. Each of the left and right earbuds can be inserted into the terminal end of one of the legs, and their wires fed through a channel that runs along each leg and on through the trunk. By providing a more rigid structure between the earbuds, not only are the earbud wires less prone to tangle, but the earbuds themselves can be more easily placed in or  removed from the user&#39;s ears, e.g., using a single motion of one hand. In addition, the earbuds can be conveniently hung around the user&#39;s neck when not in use, much like a stethoscope. Because the accessory is detachably coupled to the earbuds, the accessory can later be detached from the earbuds, thereby allowing the earbuds to be stored in a relatively small space. Moreover, the accessory can be replaced without requiring the user to also replace the earbuds themselves. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0003]      FIG. 1  is a view of an exemplary earbud accessory in accordance with the disclosure. 
           [0004]      FIG. 2  is a view of an exemplary trunk section of an earbud accessory in accordance with the disclosure. 
           [0005]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary leg of an earbud accessory in accordance with the disclosure. 
           [0006]      FIG. 4 . is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary trunk section of an earbud accessory in accordance with the disclosure. 
           [0007]      FIG. 5  is a view of an exemplary controller section of a leg of an earbud accessory in accordance with the disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0008]    Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers,  FIG. 1  shows an exemplary headphones accessory  10 , which may be used in conjunction with a set of “earbuds” or other similar headphone devices. The headphones accessory  10  may include a pair  of legs  11  joined at one end by a trunk section  12 . Opposite the trunk section  12 , each leg may include a terminal section  13 . The accessory  10  may be formed of any suitable material with sufficient rigidity to retain its overall shape while still allowing some deformation. For example, the accessory  10  may be formed of a thermoplastic with elastomeric features using an injection molding process. 
         [0009]    Each individual speaker housing or “earbud”  14  may include a stem (shown in dotted lines) that can be inserted into the terminal section  13  of each leg  11 . Once inserted, the terminal section  13  may operate to hold the earbud  14  in place by friction. It is to be appreciated that the terminal sections  13  may take a variety of forms to accommodate earbuds of different designs. The terminal section  13  of each leg  11  may have a slit or seam  15  that allows a wire exiting the speaker housing to be pulled or fed through the terminal section  13 . 
         [0010]    Each leg  11  may also include a channel  16  that runs along the long axis of the leg  11 . The channel may be configured to receive and guide each earbud wire  17  from the terminal section  13 , along the leg  11 , through the trunk section  12 , and out the bottom of the accessory  10 . The channel may run the length of the leg  11  continuously, or may stop or resume at any place along the length of the leg  11 . For example,  FIG. 1  illustrates a leg  11  on the left side of the figure as having a channel  16  that runs continuously between the terminal section  13  and the trunk section  12 . Some earbuds may include a microphone, volume control, or other piece of hardware disposed in-line with one or more of the earbud wires. Because these elements may not fit within the channel, one or more of the legs  11  may have a discontinuous channel or other means of accommodating the in-line hardware. For example, the leg  11  on the right side of  FIG. 1  is illustrated as having a controller section  18 . In this embodiment, the channel runs continuously from the terminal section  13  down to approximately the midpoint of the leg  11 ,  where the channel ends and the controller section  18  begins. At the other end of the controller section  18 , the channel resumes before feeding into the trunk section  12 . In this instance, the controller section  18  accommodates an in-line volume control apparatus  19  found in some models of earbuds, while the remainder of the earbud wire  17  is held securely by the channel-bearing portions of the leg  11  on either side of the controller section  18 . By way of example only, the controller section may span anywhere from 0.25 inches to 3 inches of the leg, so as to accommodate in-line hardware of various sizes and shapes. In an another embodiment, the leg  11  could have a continuous channel with a section of the channel having a larger cross-sectional diameter than the rest of the channel, so as to accommodate the volume control  19  or other in-line hardware. Although the accessory  10  is illustrated with the controller section  18  on the right leg, it is to be appreciated that the controller section  18  could be on the other leg, or both legs. Similarly, while channel  16  is illustrated as opening out of the page, it is to be appreciated that channel  16  could open on any side of the leg. 
         [0011]    The accessory  10  may further include one or more nubs  60  protruding outward from each leg to facilitate wrapping of excess wires around the accessory when not in use. 
         [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates an exemplary trunk section  20  of an earphones accessory in accordance with the disclosure. At the trunk section  20 , the ends of each leg  21  may be joined, and their respective wires  22  may be fed into a single trunk  23 . The trunk section  20  may include one or more anchors  24  for guiding the wires  22  through the trunk section  20  or otherwise securing the wires  22  to the trunk section  20 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the trunk section may include an open portion  25  where the wires  22  exit their respective leg channels and are threaded through one or more anchors  24  before being fed into the trunk. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the one or more anchors  24  may take the form of one or more “s-joints” formed by a plurality of  closely-spaced cylindrical nubs that pinch the wire or otherwise hold the wire in place by friction. It is to be understood that the illustrated trunk section is exemplary only, and other embodiments are also contemplated. For example, in place of the open section  25 , the leg channels could instead simply run continuously into the trunk  23 . 
         [0013]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplary cross-section  30  of a section of leg  31  having a channel for guiding an earbud wire  32  along the length of the leg  31 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the cross section  30  is an open or “c-channel” cross section, allowing the wire to pressed into the channel along the length of the leg  31 .  FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary cross-section  40  of the trunk  41 , which may include parallel channels for guiding both earbud wires  42  through the bottom of the headphone accessory. As with leg  31  in  FIG. 3 , each channel in trunk  41  may have an open cross section. The legs  31  and trunk  41  are adapted so that the wires  32  and  42  can be pressed into or pulled out of their respective channels by a person using their fingers. It is to be appreciated that although  FIG. 4  shows separate channels for each wire  42 , the trunk  41  could be adapted to accommodate both wires in a single channel. 
         [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary controller section  50  of a leg  51  of a headphones accessory in accordance with the disclosure. As illustrated, the channels of the leg  51  approaching from the left and the right side of the controller section  50  may terminate for a section of the leg so that the leg may accommodate a volume controller  52  in-line with a wire  53  of the earbuds. The controller section  50  of the leg  51  may have a cross-section with a flat portion or otherwise include a generally flat surface  54  upon which the volume control  52  may rest. The controller section  50  may be wider than the rest of the leg to accommodate for variously-sized volume controllers, microphones, or other in-line devices. In order to keep the volume control  52  in place, the controller section  50  may also include one or more anchors  55   for securing the wires  53  at either end of the volume control  52 . As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , each of the one or more anchors  55  may take the form of one or more raised, cylindrical nubs adapted to pinch or otherwise hold a wire  53  in place by friction. Alternatively or additionally, the controller section  50  could be adapted to anchor the volume control  52  itself. 
         [0015]    In use, the earbuds may be inserted into the terminal portion of each leg, and their respective wires fed through the channel sections of each leg and on through the trunk section. Generally, the legs are adapted to allow the earbud wires to be pressed into the channels where the wires are held in place until pulled out of the channels under sufficient force. Once installed in the accessory, the earbuds can be easily inserted into or removed from the user&#39;s ears using one hand. Additionally, the structure of the accessory allows the earbuds to be hung from the user&#39;s neck like a stethoscope when not in immediate use. The accessory also prevents the earbud wires from becoming tangled when, for example, placed in a drawer, purse, or backpack. Moreover, because the earbuds and the accessory can be quickly separated, the earbuds can still be stored in a relatively compact space. 
         [0016]    While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, and that this invention not be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, since various other modifications may occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art.