Patent Publication Number: US-2007094771-A1

Title: Cushion Cover for Earflaps

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a cushion cover for earflaps, and more particularly, to a cushion cover designed for use with earflaps having a soundproof cushion for reducing external noise.  
     BACKGROUND ART  
      A general earflap-type earphone used for listening to music and to block high-decibel noise at a workplace, or to reduce or cut off external noise is basically composed of a cushion cover that is provided with an adjustable connection frame having two ends thereof fastened to cover the wearer&#39;s ears. The cushion cover typically constitutes, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a soundproof cushion  10  that is made of a foam sponge material and enclosed by a soft-resin surface layer  11  made of a high molecular material. A conventional method is to use an adhesive  12  (or a high cycle wave bonding method) to securely enclose the soundproof cushion in the soft-resin surface layer  11 . Thereafter, the soundproof cushion  10  enclosed by the surface layer  11  is adhered to a rubber casing  14  to form the cushion cover  1  as shown in  FIG. 1 .  
      The aforementioned cushion cover  1  basically comprises the soundproof cushion  10 , the soft-resin surface layer  11 , and the rubber casing  14 . This design has inherent disadvantages in that the three major constituent components mentioned above require independent manufacture using two separate binding processes, adversely increasing manufacturing costs. First, the soft-resin surface layer  11  has to be adhered to the soundproof cushion  10  by means of adhesives or other known methods; next, the soundproof cushion  10  is to be enclosed by the soft-resin surface layer  11 , subsequently, the soundproof cushion  10  enclosed with the soft-resin surface layer  11  has to be adhered to the rubber casing  14  by a conventional adhering medium such as double-sided adhesive or adhesive. Such a manufacturing process requiring two separate adhering processes is laborious and time-consuming, and binding methods like conventional adhesives, double-sided adhesives, or high cycle waves all adversely increase costs and thus fail to satisfy the desire for low-cost manufacturing.  
      Further, the soft-resin surface layer  11  is made of a high molecular material in a big sheet and then is cut into small pieces for practical application, yet the cutting process inevitably generates waste materials and increases the cost as well.  
      Moreover, in order to lower the cost, the binding between the soft-resin surface layer  11  and the soundproof cushion  10 , and between the soundproof cushion  10  and the rubber casing  14  are only partially done and, thus, such elements are not completely adhered to one another. This method is prone to defects as the soft-resin surface layer  11  could easily come off from the soundproof cushion  10  or the soundproof cushion may easily detach from the rubber casing  14  that lead to problems of a short lifespan of the finished products. Also, there have been other disadvantages arising from the use of conventional covers for earphones. Such conventional covers have been inferior due to inherent characteristics and deformation of the materials from which the covers have been made.  
     Disclosure of Utility Model  
      It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a novel cushion cover for use with earflaps that simplifies the manufacturing process and reduces costs.  
      Another objective of the present invention is to provide a novel cushion cover for use with earflaps that can enhance durability and prolong the lifespan of the products.  
      Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a novel cushion cover for use with earflaps that does not require use of any adhering medium or conventional methods so that the manufacturing cost can be effectively reduced.  
      To achieve the above and other objectives, the present invention proposes a novel cushion cover for use with earflaps, comprising: a soundproof cushion having a first surface and a second surface; a covering layer having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface of the covering layer being completely adhered to the first surface of the soundproof cushion by means of the inherent adherence of the soundproof cushion; and a rubber casing having an outer casing surface and an inner casing surface, the inner casing surface of the rubber casing being completely adhered to the second surface of the soundproof cushion by means of the inherent adherence of the soundproof cushion.  
      The material used for making the soundproof cushion, the covering layer, and the rubber casing of the present invention can be any suitable materials known in the art without specific limitation, so long as the foam material used for making the soundproof cushion can provide sufficient cohesion to fully bind the covering layer together with the rubber casing after a foaming process.  
      In summary, the binding of the soundproof cushion with the covering layer and the soundproof cushion with the rubber cushion is fully intact without requiring any use of an adhering medium or methods, thereby effectively simplifying the manufacturing process and lowering the cost while enhancing durability of the fabricated products due to the strong binding between the soundproof cushion, the covering layer, and the rubber casing respectively. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS  
      The foregoing and other objects, aspects, and advantages will be better understood from the following detailed description of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:  
       FIG. 1  (PRIOR ART) is a cross-sectional view of a conventional cushion cover fitted on an earflap;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the cushion cover according to the invention;  
       FIGS. 3A  to  3 D together comprise a flow diagram showing the steps of manufacturing the cushion cover for use with earflaps according to the present invention.  
    
    
     BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION  
      The present invention is described in the following so that one skilled in the pertinent art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention. The present invention may also be implemented and applied according to other embodiments, and the details may be modified based on different views and applications without departing from the spirit of the invention.  
      For the sake of simplicity and conciseness, the other components required for applying the cushion cover for earflaps, such as an amplifier, a power wire or a receiver are purposely omitted from the description as those elements are well known in the art.  
      Referring to  FIG. 2 , a cushion cover  2  is shown for use with earflaps that is composed of a covering layer  20 , a soundproof cushion  21 , and a rubber casing  22 . The covering layer  20  has an outer surface  200  and an inner surface  201  corresponding to the outer surface  200 , and the soundproof cushion  21  has a first surface  210  facing the covering layer  20  and a second surface  211  facing the rubber casing  22 . The inner surface  201  of the covering layer  20  is completely adhered to the first surface  210  of the soundproof cushion  21  by means of the inherent adhering characteristics of the soundproof cushion  21 , such that the covering layer is smoothly adhered to the soundproof cushion  21  in such a way that improves the appearance of the fabricated cushion cover  2  and provides a smoother touch. The rubber casing  22  also has an outer casing surface  220  exposed at the ear side of the earphone and an inward-facing casing surface  221  towards the interior of the earphone that permits the inner casing surface  221  of the rubber casing  22  to be completely adhered to the second surface  211  of the soundproof cushion  21  by means of the inherent adhering characteristics of the soundproof cushion  21 .  
      The covering layer  20 , the soundproof cushion  21 , and the rubber casing  22  are made of high molecular materials, which are well-known in the art and thus will not be further described herein for brevity. However, it is to be noted that in this embodiment the foam material used for making the soundproof cushion  21  must have sufficient cohesion necessary for fixedly binding the covering layer  20  and the rubber casing  22 . By the inherent adhering characteristics of the soundproof cushion  21 , the covering layer  20  and the rubber casing  22  can be bound effectively without using adhesives, two-way adhesives, or a high cycle wave method for binding the covering layer  20  and the rubber casing  22 , thereby saving costs and simplifying the manufacturing process while increasing production efficiency.  
       FIG. 3  is a schematic flow diagram showing the steps of manufacturing the cushion cover  2  for use with earflaps according to the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 3A , the first step comprises coating the surface of a mold cavity  230  of a mold  23  with a covering layer  20 . Suitable material for making the covering layer  20  has a cohesion degree between the covering layer  20  and the surface of the mold cavity  230  of the mold  23  smaller than that between the covering layer  20  and the soundproof cushion  21 , such that after the production process, the covering layer  20  is completely adhered to the soundproof cushion  21  when the mold  23  is detached from the fabricated products.  
      As shown in  FIG. 3B , the outer casing surface  220  of the rubber casing  22  and the inner casing surface  221  corresponding to the outer casing surface  220  are combined on the mold  23  to perform the subsequent molding process. After the rubber casing  22  is covered on the mold  23 , the inner casing surface  221  faces toward the mold cavity  230 , and the rubber casing  22  is formed with a plurality of injection apertures  222  for connecting the mold cavity  230  to the outside. Further, the circumference of the rubber casing  22  is formed with a stairway portion  223  which is adapted to closely seal the circumference of the mold cavity  230  via the stairway portion  223 , such that the foam material being injected into the mold cavity  230  is prevented from overflowing from the circumference of the mold cavity  230  in the subsequent molding process.  
      Thereafter, as shown in  FIG. 3C , a molding process is performed to inject the foam material via the injection apertures  222  of the rubber casing  22  into the mold cavity  230 , allowing the foam material to foam in the mold cavity  230  to form the soundproof cushion  21 . As the foam material used is inherent with a cohesive property, the fabricated soundproof cushion  21  has the cohesion required to enable the inner surface  201  of the covering layer  20  to be fully bound with the first surface  210  of the soundproof cushion  21 , while the inner casing surface  221  of the rubber casing  22  is completely bound with the second surface  211  of the soundproof cushion  21 . The method achieves not only the purpose of utilizing the molding process to form the soundproof cushion  21  but also the effect of binding the covering layer  20 , the soundproof cushion  21 , and the rubber casing  22  with one another effectively, thereby eliminating the two steps of binding required in conventional cover structures, simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing costs as a result. Moreover, the covering layer  20  and the rubber casing  22  can be fully adhered to the first surface  210  and the second surface  211  of the soundproof cushion  21 . Consequently, the cohesive bonds between the covering layer  20  and the soundproof cushion  21 , and the cohesion between the rubber casing  22  and the soundproof cushion  21  are far greater than in conventional covers and can effectively increase durability and lifespan of the fabricated products.  
      Lastly, as shown in  FIG. 3D , the mold  23  is detached from the cushion cover  2  consisting of the covering layer  20 , the soundproof cushion  21 , and the rubber casing  22  in the direction shown by an arrow in the drawing. As mentioned earlier, the chosen material for making the covering layer  20  has cohesion with the inner surface of the mold cavity  230  smaller than that with the soundproof cushion  21 , such that the covering layer  20  will not strongly adhere to the surface of the mold cavity  230  and prevent smooth detachment of the mold  23  from the cushion cover  2 . Certainly, a detachment layer can be used to coat the surface of the mold cavity  230  to ensure that the covering layer  20  does not adhere to the mold  23  to facilitate the off-mold process.  
      It is to be noted that the manufacturing method of the present invention is not limited to the disclosure of the foregoing embodiment. For instance, the soundproof cushion  21  may be formed first and then the covering layer  20  can be formed on the first surface  210  of the soundproof cushion  21  to simplify the process and reduce the cost. Further, as the soundproof cushion of the present invention is made of foam materials, the flexibility of the soundproof cushion can be suitably adjusted, and also the color, the size, or even the shape thereof can be chosen as desired and made to order to meet practical requirements. Also, the foam material used for making the soundproof cushion can be one that is environmentally-friendly that does not generate toxic and harmful substances during burning processes.  
      Having thus described a preferred embodiment in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the invention, it will nevertheless be appreciated that numerous variations and modifications of the illustrated embodiment may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is intended that the invention not be limited by the above description or accompanying drawings, but that it be defined solely in accordance with the appended claims.