Patent Publication Number: US-8532325-B2

Title: Earphone device with bass adjusting function

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of Taiwan Patent Application No. 098133664, filed on Oct. 5, 2009, which is hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates to an earphone device, and more particularly to an earphone device having different bass performances by adjusting a volume of a back chamber of a speaker. 
     2. Related Art 
       FIG. 1  shows an earphone device according to the prior art. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the earphone device includes a case  10  having an accommodating portion  11 . The accommodating portion  11  includes an inner chamber for accommodating components such as a speaker and a drive circuit. A bass tube  12  extends from the accommodating portion  11  of the case  10 . When the speaker is disposed in the accommodating portion  11 , the inner chamber is in communication with a space in the extended bass tube  12 , so as to form a back chamber of the speaker. 
     In the initial stage for designing the case  10  of the earphone device according to the prior art, a volume of the bass tube  12  is determined according to specific consumer groups. However, the low-frequency characteristics of the earphone device are primarily determined by the volume of the bass tube  12 . Here, the low frequency refers to frequencies in a range from 20 Hz to 200 Hz, which is further divided into low bass, mid bass, and upper bass. The frequency range of the low bass is 20 HZ to 40 Hz, the frequency range of the mid bass is 40 Hz to 100 Hz, and the frequency range of the upper bass is 100 Hz to 200 Hz. Therefore, consumers who often listen to classical music pay special attention to the low bass performance, while consumers who often listen to dance music with strong beats care more about the upper bass performance. 
     Currently, various music players have a very large storage capacity, and can store hundreds of or even thousands of songs. For a consumer who does not have specific favorite music styles, many different styles of songs may be stored in the music player, and the songs require different bass performances. Therefore, if an earphone device similar to that in the prior art is used for converting and outputting the sounds, the tone quality performance is more or less unsatisfactory for users. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In view of the above, the present invention is directed to an earphone device with a bass adjusting function, which enables a user to adjust bass characteristics as desired, so as to fully express the intrinsic tone quality characteristics of music. 
     To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an earphone device with a bass adjusting function, which includes a case and a control unit. An accommodating portion at one end of the case has an inner chamber for accommodating a speaker, and an extension segment at the other end of the case is hollow-shaped and is in communication with the inner chamber, so as to form a back chamber of the speaker. The control unit is disposed on the extension segment. When the control unit is located at a first position, the extension segment is divided into a first space and a second space therein, and the first space is in communication with the inner chamber of the accommodating portion. When the control unit changes to a second position, the first space is in communication with the second space, so as to increase a volume of the back chamber of the speaker. 
     To achieve the above objective, the present invention further provides an earphone device with a bass adjusting function, which includes a case and an adjusting tube. An accommodating portion is disposed at one end of the case for accommodating a speaker, and an extension tube is disposed at the other end of the case. The extension tube has a first space, a first combining portion is disposed at an end of the extension tube, and at least one through hole is disposed on the first combining portion. The adjusting tube has a second space. A second combining portion is disposed on the adjusting tube corresponding to the extension tube. The second combining portion is combined with the first combining portion. A through hole is disposed on the second combining portion. When the adjusting tube rotates from a first position to a second position, the through hole of the second combining portion is corresponding to the through hole of the first combining portion, such that the first space is in communication with the second space. 
     Based on the above, the earphone device with a bass adjusting function according to the present invention has a first space and a second space, and by rotating or sliding the control unit disposed on the extension segment or rotating the adjusting tube combined with the extension tube, the first space is controlled to be in communication with or not in communication with the second space. Thus, a volume of the bass tube formed by the extension segment or formed by the extension tube combined with the adjusting tube can be adjusted. When the first space is in communication with the second space, the bass tube has the largest volume, so that the low bass performance is better. When the first space is not in communication with the second space, the bass tube only has the first space in communication with the inner chamber of the accommodating portion of the earphone device, and at this time, the upper bass performance is better. Therefore, the present invention enables the user to adjust the bass performance according to different music styles or personal favorites, provides diversified changes, and enhances the pleasure in operating the device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an earphone device according to the prior art; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic assembled view of an earphone device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic exploded view of the earphone device according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4A  is a schematic view (I) of the earphone device adjusted to a closed state according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4B  is a schematic view (II) of the earphone device adjusted to a closed state according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5A  is a schematic view (I) of the earphone device adjusted to a communication state according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5B  is a schematic view (II) of the earphone device adjusted to a communication state according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6A  is a schematic view of an earphone device adjusted to a closed state according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6B  is a schematic view of the earphone device adjusted to a communication state according to the second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7A  is a schematic view of an earphone device adjusted to a closed state according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7B  is a schematic view of the earphone device adjusted to a communication state according to the third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8A  is a schematic view of an earphone device adjusted to a closed state according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8B  is a schematic view of the earphone device adjusted to a communication state according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9A  is a schematic view of an earphone device adjusted to a closed state according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9B  is a schematic view of the earphone device adjusted to a communication state according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The earphone device with a bass adjusting function according to the embodiments of the present invention is illustrated below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIGS. 2 and 3  are a schematic assembled view and a schematic exploded view of an earphone device with a bass adjusting function according to a first embodiment of the present invention respectively. As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the earphone device includes a case  20  and a control unit  30 . The case  20  includes an accommodating portion  21  and an extension segment  22 . The accommodating portion  21  has an inner chamber for accommodating a speaker, and the extension segment  22  is hollow-shaped and is in communication with the inner chamber of the accommodating portion  21 . The extension segment  22  and the inner chamber of the accommodating portion  21  together form a back chamber of the speaker. In addition, the control unit  30  is rotatably or movably disposed on the extension segment  22  and is used for controlling a volume of the back chamber of the speaker. Besides the above components, the earphone device further includes a transmission wire  40 , which passes through the extension segment  22 . One end of the transmission wire  40  is electrically connected to the speaker in the earphone device, and the other end extends to and is electrically connected to a corresponding electronic device, for example, a mobile phone or a music player. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  4 A,  4 B,  5 A, and  5 B together, in this embodiment, the extension segment  22  is formed by an extension tube  221  and an adjusting tube  222 . The extension tube  221  extends from an accommodating portion  21 , and the adjusting tube  222  is combined with the extension tube  221 . The interior of the extension tube  221  is defined as a first space S 1 , and the interior of the adjusting tube  222  is defined as a second space S 2 . 
     The adjusting tube  222  has two arms  2221 , which are inserted into the extension tube  221 . A part of the two arms  2221  is exposed outside the tube, and the other part of the two arms  2221  is located inside the tube. The adjusting tube  222  is positioned and combined with the extension tube  221  through the two arms  2221 . The control unit  30  is a ring, and two baffle blocks  31  protrude from the control unit  30  in an axial direction. When the control unit  30  is sleeved on the two arms  2221  and is rotated to a first position with respect to the two arms  2221  (as shown in  FIG. 4A ), the two baffle blocks  31  block a path P between the two arms  2221 , such that the first space S 1  is not in communication with the second space S 2  (as shown in  FIG. 4B ), and at this time, the earphone device is in a closed state. When the control unit  30  is rotated to a second position with respect to the two arms  2221  (as shown in  FIG. 5A ), the two baffle blocks  31  do not block the path P any more, such that the first space S 1  is in communication with the second space S 2  (as shown in  FIG. 5B ), and at this time, the earphone device is in a communication state. 
     The baffle block  31  of the control unit  30  is formed by an extension portion  311  and a block portion  312 . When the control unit  30  is sleeved on the two arms  2221 , the extension portion  311  is inserted into the path P, and the block portion  312  extends transversely along bottom edges of the two arms  2221  from an end of the extension portion  311 . As shown in  FIGS. 4A and 4B , the control unit  30  blocks the path P by using the block portion  312 . As shown in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the block portion  312  moves to the bottom edges of the two arms  2221 . 
     The extension segment  22  formed by combining the extension tube  221  with the adjusting tube  222  is a structure for enhancing the bass performance in the earphone device. The extension segment  22  and the inner chamber of the accommodating portion  21  together form the back chamber of the speaker, and a part of the extension segment  22  may also be referred to as a bass tube. In this embodiment, the control unit  30  is rotated between the first position and the second position, so as to control the second space S 2  of the adjusting tube  222  to be in communication with or not in communication with the first space S 1  of the extension tube  221 . As described above, a volume of the bass tube is a factor for affecting the low-frequency characteristics of the earphone device. Therefore, when the second space S 2  is in communication with the first space S 1 , the bass tube has the largest volume, and the low bass performance is better. On the contrary, when the second space S 2  is not in communication with the first space S 1 , the bass tube only has the first space S 1  in the extension tube  221  to be in communication with the inner chamber of the accommodating portion, and at this time, the upper bass performance is better. 
     In this embodiment, the extension segment  22  is formed by two separate components, that is, the extension tube  221  and the adjusting tube  222 . However, the extension segment  22  may also be a structure integrally extending from the case  20 . Particularly, as long as the control unit  30  is designed to be sleeved on the extension segment  22 , and is rotated or slides between the first position and the second position to control the first space S 1  to be in communication with or not in communication with the second space S 2 , the structure can also achieve the same efficacy as that in the first embodiment. 
       FIGS. 6A and 6B  are schematic views of an earphone device adjusted to a closed state and adjusted to a communication state according to a second embodiment of the present invention respectively. The main difference between the earphone device shown in  FIGS. 6A and 6B  and that of the first embodiment is that, two through holes  2211  are opened at a bottom edge of the extension tube  221 , and the structure of the adjusting tube  222  is designed as having a pillar  2222  at a front end. When the adjusting tube  222  is combined with the extension tube  221 , the control unit  30  is sleeved on the pillar  2222 . In addition, two through holes  2223  are further disposed on the pillar  2222 . 
     In this embodiment, the control unit  30  has two grooves  32 . When the control unit  30  is located at a first position as shown in  FIG. 6A , the control unit  30  blocks the through holes  2211  of the extension tube  221  and the though holes  2223  of the adjusting tube  222  at the same time. At this time, the earphone device is in a closed state. Moreover, when the control unit  30  is rotated to a second position as shown in  FIG. 6B , the grooves  32  of the control unit  30  move to positions corresponding to the through holes  2211  and the through holes  2223  at the same time, such that the first space S 1  is in communication with the second space S 2  via the through holes  2211 , the grooves  32 , and the through holes  2223 . 
     In the above drawings and description, though the through holes  2211 , the grooves  32 , and the through holes  2223  are all configured as two groups correspondingly, the efficacy of controlling the closed or communication state between the first space S 1  and the second space S 2  can also be achieved by using only one group of the above components respectively, which is not described repeatedly with reference to the drawings herein. 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  are schematic views of an earphone device adjusted to a closed state and adjusted to a communication state according to a third embodiment of the present invention respectively. The main difference between the earphone device shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B  and that of the second embodiment is that, through holes  2224  of the adjusting tube  222  are disposed at a shoulder position near the pillar  2222  in this embodiment, and the through holes  2224  are corresponding to the through holes  2211  of the extension tube  221  and are disposed on the same axial line correspondingly. Therefore, in this embodiment, two axial paths  33  pass through the control unit  30 . When the control unit  30  is located at a first position as shown in  FIG. 7A , the control unit  30  blocks the through holes  2211  of the extension tube  221  and the through holes  2224  of the adjusting tube  222  at the same time. At this time, the earphone device is in a close state. Moreover, when the control unit  30  is rotated to a second position as shown in  FIG. 7B , the paths  33  of the control unit  30  are rotated to positions corresponding to the through holes  2211  and the through holes  2224  at the same time, such that the first space S 1  is in communication with the second space S 2  via the through holes  2211 , the paths  33 , and the through holes  2224 . 
     In the drawings and description of the third embodiment, though the through holes  2211 , the paths  33 , and the through holes  2224  are all configured as two groups correspondingly, the efficacy of controlling the closed or communication state between the first space S 1  and the second space S 2  can also be achieved by using only one group of the above components respectively, which is not described repeatedly with reference to the drawings herein. 
     It should be noted that, in the second and third embodiments, the extension segment  22  of the earphone device may be formed by two separate components or be a structure integrally extended from the case  20 , and such modification to the structure does not affect the efficacy of the present invention, and will not be described again herein. 
       FIGS. 8A and 8B  are schematic views of an earphone device adjusted to a closed state and adjusted to a communication state according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention respectively. The main difference between the earphone device shown in  FIGS. 8A and 8B  and that of the second embodiment is that, an accommodating room R is recessed at a front end of the adjusting tube  222 . The accommodating room R is in communication with the first space S 1  via the through holes  2211 , and is in communication with the second space S 2  via the through holes  2223 . A baffle block  2225  is further disposed inside the accommodating room R. One of the baffle block  2225  and a ring-shaped control unit  30  is made of a magnetic material, and the other one is made of a metal material. When the control unit  30  is located at a first position as shown in  FIG. 8A , the baffle block  2225  blocks the through holes  2211  of the extension tube  221 . At this time, the earphone device is in a closed state. Moreover, when the control unit  30  slides to a second position as shown in  FIG. 8B , the baffle block  2225  and the control unit  30  are attracted by each other, so that the baffle block  2225  is driven to move together, and accordingly, the through holes  2211  are not blocked any more. At this time, the earphone device is in a communication state, and the first space S 1  is in communication with the second space S 2  via the through holes  2211 , the accommodating room R, and the through holes  2223 . 
       FIGS. 9A and 9B  are schematic views of an earphone device adjusted to a closed state and adjusted to a communication state according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention respectively. The main difference between the earphone device shown in  FIGS. 9A and 9B  and that of the first embodiment is that, the adjusting tube  222  is used to directly replace the control unit  30  in the above embodiments. In this embodiment, the extension tube  221  extends from the accommodating portion (not shown), and a first combining portion  2212  is disposed at an end of the extension tube  221 , which is implemented as a recess with respect to a bottom edge of the extension tube  221 . Two through holes  2213  are disposed on the first combining portion  2212 . In addition, corresponding to the extension tube  221 , a second combining portion  2226  is also disposed on the adjusting tube  222 , which is implemented as a pillar. In addition, through holes  2227  are also disposed on the second combining portion  2226 . 
     When the adjusting tube  222  is located at a first position as shown in  FIG. 9A , the through holes  2227  of the adjusting tube  222  are not aligned with the through holes  2213  of the extension tube  221 , so that the first space S 1  is not in communication with the second space S 2 . At this time, the earphone device is in a closed state. When the adjusting tube  222  is rotated to a second position as shown in  FIG. 9B , the through holes  2227  of the adjusting tube  222  are rotated to positions corresponding to the through holes  2213  of the extension tube  221 . At this time, the earphone device is in a communication state, and the first space S 1  is in communication with the second space S 2  via the through holes  2213  and the through holes  2227 . 
     In the earphone device according to the fifth embodiment, the first combining portion  2212  may be configured as a pillar, and the second combining portion  2226  may be correspondingly configured as a recess. Such replacement does not affect the efficacy of controlling the first space S 1  to be in communication with or not in communication with the second space S 2  by rotating the adjusting tube  222 , which will not be described again with reference to the drawings herein. 
     As described above, the earphone device with a bass adjusting function according to the present invention includes an inner chamber, a first space, and a second space. By rotating or sliding the control unit disposed on the extension segment or the adjusting tube combined with the extension tube, the efficacy of controlling the first space to be in communication with or not in communication with the second space can be achieved. When the second space is in communication with the first space, the volume of the bass tube formed by the extension segment or formed by the extension tube combined with the adjusting tube is the largest, and the low bass performance is better. When the second space is not in communication with the first space, the bass tube only has the first space in communication with the inner chamber of the accommodating portion of the earphone device, and at this time, the upper bass performance is better. Therefore, the earphone device of the present invention enables the user to adjust the bass performance according to different music styles or personal favorites, provides diversified changes, and enhances the pleasure in operating the device. 
     The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.