Patent Publication Number: US-7720246-B2

Title: Headphone device

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a headphone device, and more particularly to a headphone device having a flexible headband. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Nowadays, portable media players such as portable CD players, MP3 players and the like become popular in modern societies due to some advantages such as small size, light weightiness and easy portability. On account of their portability, the users can use such portable media players everywhere they are. In order to hear songs from the portable media player, some accessories such as earphones are indispensable. Since the structure of the earphones may influence the tone quality and the portability of the portable media player, it is important to select suitable earphones matching the portable media player. 
     Generally, the earphone devices offered by the manufacturers of the portable CD players or the MP3 players are plain earplug types, which have plain sound isolation and plain tone quality. When this earplug type earphone device is used, the volume of the portable CD player or the MP3 player is unconsciously turned up to a high level because the noisy sounds in the surroundings are not effectively isolated. After exposure to such a noisy environment for a long term, the user is readily suffered from hearing loss. For a purpose of protecting from hearing loss, a headphone device having ear muffs is additionally purchased. The headphone device is usually divided into two categories: a vertical headphone device that arches over the head and a horizontal headphone device that rests on the ears. The vertical headphone device that arches over the head is both bulky and cumbersome for the portable use in the portable CD player or the MP3 player. Whereas, the horizontal headphone device that rests on the ears includes a pair of supporting members for supporting the speaker units. According the user&#39;s demand, the horizontal headphone device is attached to the rear head of a user as the supporting members rest on the ears. Typically, the vertical headphone device that arches over the head has a rigid hoop structure, and is therefore not feasible for portability or storage. Whereas, the horizontal headphone device that rests on the ears is advantageous for portability or storage because no rigid hoop structure is used. In comparison with the earplug type earphone device, however, the horizontal headphone device is unsatisfactory in portability or storage because the overall volume of the horizontal headphone device is increased and the two speaker units are distant from each other. 
     For a purpose of solving the drawbacks described above, as shown in  FIG. 1(   a ), an improved headphone device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,325 B1, which is hereby fully incorporated by reference. Referring to  FIG. 1(   a ), the headphone device  1  comprises a rigid hoop structure  11 , a first supporting member  12 , a second supporting member  13 , a first speaker unit  14  and a second speaker unit  15 . The hoop structure  11  is rotatable about a first fulcrum portion  111  in the direction indicated by the arrow A. The first supporting member  12  and the second supporting member  13  are coupled with the hoop structure  11 . When the headphone device  1  is attached to the rear head of a user, the first supporting member  12  and the second supporting member  13  rest on the user&#39;s ears. The first speaker unit  14  and the second speaker unit  15  are supported by the first supporting member  12  and the second supporting member  13 , respectively. The first supporting member  12  and the second supporting member  13  are rotatable about a second fulcrum portion  121  and a third fulcrum portion  131 , respectively, in the direction indicated by the arrow B. For collapsing the headphone device  1 , the first fulcrum portion  111  of the hoop structure  11 , the second fulcrum portion  121  of the first supporting member  12  and the third fulcrum portion  131  of the second supporting member  13  are cooperatively operated. First of all, as shown in  FIG. 1(   b ), the first supporting member  12  and the second supporting member  13  are rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow B about the second fulcrum portion  121  and the third fulcrum portion  131 , respectively, so that the first speaker unit  14  and the second speaker unit  15  along with the supporting member  12  and the second supporting member  13  approach toward the hoop structure  11 . Then, the hoop structure  11  is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow A, so that the first speaker unit  14  and the second speaker unit  15  approach each other. Afterwards, the first speaker unit  14  and the second speaker unit  15  are housed in a region surrounded by the first supporting member  12 , the second supporting member  13  and the hoop structure  11 , as can be seen in  FIG. 1(   c ). 
     Although the headphone device of  FIG. 1  is storable when collapsed to a compact size, this headphone device still has some drawbacks. For example, since the hoop structure  11  is made of rigid material, the compact size is not satisfied. As shown in  FIG. 1(   c ), due to the rigid hoop structure  11 , there is still large space between the first speaker unit  14  and the second speaker unit  15 . Therefore, there is a need to collapse the headphone device to a reduced size. In addition, the first fulcrum portion  111 , the second fulcrum portion  121  and the third fulcrum portion  131  are readily loosened after many rotating and collapsing cycles. Under this circumstance, the headphone device fails to be well collapsed. 
     In views of the above-described disadvantages resulted from the prior art, the applicant keeps on carving unflaggingly to develop a headphone device according to the present invention through wholehearted experience and research. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a headphone device capable of being collapsed to the possible minimum compact size. 
     In accordance to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a headphone device. The headphone device comprises a sound amplifying member, a connecting member and a fixing member. The sound amplifying member includes a first speaker and a second speaker for outputting a sound. The connecting member is interconnected between the first speaker and the second speaker and made of first flexible material. The connecting member is flexibly wound around the first speaker and the second speaker according to the shapes of the first speaker and the second speaker. The fixing member is coupled to the sound amplifying member for securing the connecting member thereon after the connecting member is wound around the first speaker and the second speaker. 
     In an embodiment, the first speaker and the second speaker of the sound amplifying member are disc-shaped. 
     In an embodiment, the connecting member includes a flexible plastic tube to be wound around the peripheries of the first speaker and the second speaker. 
     In an embodiment, the connecting member further includes first and second supporting members made of second flexible material, wherein the second flexible material is more rigid than the first flexible material. 
     In an embodiment, the fixing member comprises first and second fixing parts, which are made of elastic rubber material, have indentation structures and are respectively coupled to the first and second speakers. The connecting member is secured within the indentation structures of the first and second fixing parts after being wound around the peripheries of the first and second speakers. 
     The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which: 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1(   a ) is a schematic perspective view of a conventional headphone device; 
         FIG. 1(   b ) is a schematic view illustrating the mechanism for collapsing the headphone device of  FIG. 1(   a ); 
         FIG. 1(   c ) is a schematic view illustrating the headphone device of  FIG. 1(   a ) in the collapsed state; 
         FIG. 2(   a ) is a schematic perspective view of a headphone device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2(   b ) is a schematic view illustrating the connecting member of the headphone device shown in  FIG. 2(   a ); 
         FIG. 2(   c ) is a schematic view illustrating the fixing member of the headphone device shown in  FIG. 2(   a ); 
         FIG. 3(   a ) is a schematic view illustrating the mechanism for collapsing the headphone device of  FIG. 2(   a ); and 
         FIG. 3(   b ) is a schematic view illustrating the headphone device of  FIG. 2(   a ) in the collapsed state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to  FIG. 2(   a ), a schematic perspective view of a headphone device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In this embodiment, the headphone device is a wireless headphone device. As shown in  FIG. 2(   a ), the wireless headphone device  2  principally comprises a sound amplifying member  21 , a connecting member  22  and a fixing member  23 . The sound amplifying member comprises a first speaker  211  and a second speaker  212 , which are disc-shaped. Via the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 , the user can hear songs from the portable media player. In addition, each of the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212  further comprises a wireless signal receiver (not shown) for receiving wireless signals from the portable media player. The wireless signals are converted into the sound signals to be outputted through the sound amplifying member  21 . 
     In accordance with the major features, the connecting member  22  and the fixing member  23  of the headphone device  2  are cooperated with each other to perform a satisfactory collapsing operation. The connecting member  22  is made of flexible material and coupled to the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 . Due to the flexible property, the connecting member  22  is deformed when an external force is applied thereon, to be wound around the peripheries of the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 . The fixing member  23  is coupled to the sound amplifying member  21 . After the connecting member  22  is wound around the peripheries of the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 , the connecting member  22  is clamped by the fixing member  23 , so that the connecting member  22  is secured onto the sound amplifying member  21 . Meanwhile, the wireless headphone device  2  is collapsed to a possible minimum compact size. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 2(   b ). The connecting member  22  of the wireless headphone device  2  includes a flexible tube  221 , which is made of a flexible plastic material such as silicon. As previously described, the conventional headphone device needs additional fulcrum portions for collapsing the hoop structure because the rigid hoop structure is made of rigid material. Due to the flexible property, the connecting member  22  is deformed to be wound around the peripheries of the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 . In addition, a power cable (not shown) is accommodated within the flexible tube  221  for electrically connecting the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 , so as to transmit electrical signals between the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 . The connecting member  22  further includes a first supporting member  222  and a second supporting member  223 , which are made of elastic rubber material and coupled with the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 , respectively. Since the first supporting member  222  and the second supporting member  223  are more rigid than the flexible tube  221 , the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212  are respectively supported by the first supporting member  222  and the second supporting member  223 . When the wireless headphone device  2  is attached to the rear head of a user, the first supporting member  222  and the second supporting member  223  may rest on the user&#39;s ears. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2(   a ) and  FIG. 2(   c ), the detailed structure of the fixing member  23  of the wireless headphone device  2  is illustrated. The fixing member  23  includes a first fixing part  231  and a second fixing part  232  coupled to the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 , respectively. As shown in  FIG. 2(   a ), the first fixing part  231  and the second fixing part  232  have respective indentation structures  2310  and  2320  for facilitating the user to secure the connecting member  22  therein. For example, after the connecting member  22  is wound around the peripheries of the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 , the connecting member  22  should be accommodated within and clamped by the indentation structures  2310  and  2320  of the first fixing parts  231  and the second fixing parts  232 , respectively. Under this circumstance, the wireless headphone device  2  is collapsed to the possible minimum compact size. 
     From the above description, the present invention is capable of collapsing the wireless headphone device to the possible minimum compact size on account of the flexible connecting member  22  and the fixing mechanism of the fixing member  23 . The connecting member  22  is firstly wound around the peripheries of the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 , and then the connecting member  22  is clamped by the indentation structures of the fixing member  23 . 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 3(   a ) and  3 ( b ), which illustrate the process for collapsing the wireless headphone device  2 . First of all, as shown in  FIG. 3(   a ), the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212  of the sound amplifying member  21  are pushed toward each other in the direction indicated by the arrow C. Then, the connecting member  22  is bent toward the sound amplifying member  21  in the direction indicated by the arrow D and then wound around the peripheries of the first speaker  211  and the second speaker  212 . Afterward, the connecting member  22  is clamped by the first fixing part  231  and the second fixing part  232 . Under this circumstance, the wireless headphone device  2  is collapsed to the possible minimum compact size as can be seen in  FIG. 3(   b ). 
     From the above description, by winding the connecting member around the peripheries of the sound amplifying member and then securing the connecting member onto the fixing member, the wireless headphone device can be collapsed to the possible minimum compact size. In addition, due to the flexibility, the problems occurred in the prior art of using fulcrum portions to collapse the headphone will be overcome. 
     The present invention is illustrated by referring to a wireless headphone device. Nevertheless, the present invention can be extended to the technology of storing the wired headphone device. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.