Patent Publication Number: US-8983108-B2

Title: Ear headphone

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The instant disclosure relates to an in ear headphone; in particular, to an in ear headphone communicable to the ambient sound by a channel. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     In ear headphones allow audio components to be inserted to the ear canal. However, the in ear headphone provides audio insulation once a user puts on the earphone and the ambient sound is blocked. If a user uses the earphone when walking, the traditional in ear headphone isolates the listener from external sound, for example, horn, and it may lead to traffic accident. 
     To address the above issues, the inventor strives via associated experience and research to present the instant disclosure, which can effectively improve upon the limitation described above. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The instant disclosure provides an in ear headphone communicable to the ambient sound. 
     According to one exemplary embodiment of the instant disclosure, the in ear headphone includes a main body, an ear pad and a speaker. The main body includes a first wall and a second wall. The first wall defines a chamber, and the first and second walls collectively define a gap. One end of the gap and one end of the chamber are both directed toward an ear canal. The other end of the gap is directed toward ambient air. The ear pad corresponds to one end of the gap and the chamber. The ear pad conformingly contacts the ear canal. The speaker is disposed in the chamber. 
     The in ear headphone permits ambient sound even when wearing the earphone. 
     In order to further understand the instant disclosure, the following embodiments are provided along with illustrations to facilitate the appreciation of the instant disclosure; however, the appended drawings are merely provided for reference and illustration, without any intention to be used for limiting the scope of the instant disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of an in ear headphone of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view from another viewing point of the in ear headphone of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective cross-sectional view along A-A of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic cross-sectional view along A-A of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective cross-sectional view along B-B of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic cross-sectional view along B-B of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic assembly diagram illustrating a main body of the in ear headphone of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a partial perspective view illustrating an embodiment of the in ear headphone of the instant disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective cross-sectional view along C-C of  FIG. 8 ; and 
         FIG. 10  is a schematic cross-sectional view along C-C of  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The aforementioned illustrations and following detailed descriptions are exemplary for the purpose of further explaining the scope of the instant disclosure. Other objectives and advantages related to the instant disclosure will be illustrated in the subsequent descriptions and appended drawings. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1  showing an exploded perspective view of an in ear headphone  1  of the instant disclosure. The in ear headphone  1  includes a main body  10 , an ear pad  20  and a speaker  30  (referring to  FIG. 4 ). The speaker  30  is disposed in the main body  10  (referring to  FIG. 4 ). The ear pad  20  is formed with an opening  21  (referring to  FIG. 2 ). The ear pad  20  encloses one end of the main body  10  through the opening  21 . The ear pad  20  can be plugged into the user&#39;s ear canal (not shown) and the sound from the speaker  30  passes through the opening  21  to the user. The ear pad  20  is made of flexible and soft materials, for example, silicone gel or high density sponge. The material can be chosen according to cost, sound quality, comfort and the other associated factors. The contour of the ear pad  20  conformingly contacts the listener&#39;s ear canal. Because of the material of the ear pad  20 , the ear pad  20  firmly and comfortably secures the earphone to the ear canal and cancels off ambient noise. 
     For clarity, the speaker  30  is shown in  FIGS. 4 ,  6  and  10 . The ear pad  20  is not shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  5  and  9  but  FIGS. 4 ,  6  and  10 . 
       FIG. 2  shows an exploded perspective view from another viewing point of the in ear headphone of the instant disclosure. Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the main body  10  includes a first wall  11 , a second wall  12 , a lid  16  and a plurality of connection blocks  17 . The connection blocks  17  connect the first and second walls  11 ,  12  and a gap  14  is formed therebetween. The first wall  11  defines a chamber  13 . The gap  14  and the chamber  13  communicate sound toward the ear canal. One end of the gap  14  is communicable to external environment and therefore the ambient sound can be delivered therefrom. The lid  16  covers one end of the chamber  13  that is directed toward the ambient air. 
     In a first embodiment of the instant disclosure, the first and second walls  11 ,  12  are substantially concentric. The first wall  11  is spaced apart from the second wall  12  and the gap  14  is formed. The first wall  11  defines the chamber  13 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective cross-sectional view along A-A of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 4  is a schematic cross-sectional view along A-A of  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the first wall  11  is substantially tubular and the chamber  13  is defined by the tubular first wall  11 . Each of the two ends of the first wall  11  is not sealed and as a result the chamber  13  opens at the two ends. However, the lid  16  seals one end of the first wall  11  that directs toward the ambient air. The first wall  11  is reduced toward the ear canal to form a curved portion  111 . The curved portion  111  does not close the first wall  111  and therefore defines an outlet  112 . An inner tube  113  is formed by the extension of the first wall  11  from the outlet  112  toward the ear canal. The inner diameter of the outlet  112  is smaller than that of the chamber  13  while the inner tube  113  is further reduced toward the ear canal to concentrate the sound wave. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the second wall  12  includes a adapter portion  121  and a tube portion  122 . The adapter portion  121  is coupled to the end of the tube portion  122  that directs toward the ear canal. The adapter portion  121  resembles a funnel. The adapter portion  121  has a tapered portion  1212 , a ring portion  1213  and a sound channel  1211 . The larger end of the tapered portion  1212  is coupled to the tube portion  122 . The smaller end of the tapered portion  1212  extends toward the ear canal to form the ring portion  1213 . The ring portion  1213  further extends toward the direction of ear channel to form the sound channel  1211 . The ring portion  1213  has an inner diameter substantially similar to the smallest inner diameter of the tapered portion  1212  while the sound channel  1211  has an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the ring portion  1213 . In the instant embodiment, a step  1214  is formed proximate to the ear canal on the circumferential portion of the sound channel  1211 . Additionally, the adapter portion  121  and the tube portion  122  are individually fabricated, allowing easier manufacturing and assembly. 
     The inner diameter of the tube portion  122  is larger than the outer diameter of the first wall  11 . The inner diameter of the tapered portion  1212  of the adapter portion  121  is larger than the outer diameter of the curved portion  111 . The inner diameter of the ring portion  1213  is larger than the outer diameter of the inner tube  113 . Because of the diameter difference between the first wall  11  and the tube portion  122 , the gap  14  is created therebetween. Similarly, the curved portion  111  is disposed in the tapered portion  1212  with a space formed therebetween. The inner tube  13  is disposed in the ring portion  1213  with a space formed therebetween. The space between the curved portion  111  and the tapered portion  1212  and the space between the inner tube  113  and the ring portion  1213  are communicable to the gap  14 . The width of the gap  14  is smaller than the inner diameter of the chamber  13 . However, the width of the gap  14  may vary according to the design of the earphone. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective cross-sectional view along B-B of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 6  is a schematic cross-sectional view along B-B of  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  5  and  6 , the connection blocs  17  are evenly spaced and disposed between the first wall  11  and the tube portion  122  of the second wall  12 . The first and second walls  11 ,  12  are then concentric while spaced apart. The lid  16  is formed with an aperture  161 . The lid  16  covers the end of the chamber  13  that is directed toward the surrounding air. In other words, the lid  16  substantially seals one end of the chamber  13 . 
       FIG. 7  is a schematic assembly diagram illustrating the main body  10 . Referring to  FIGS. 3 ,  4  and  7 , the speaker  30  is connected to a cord  31 . The cord  31  connects to an electronic device and transmits signal to the speaker  30 , causing a transducer (not shown) of the speaker  30  to vibrate. The speaker  30  is disposed in the chamber  13  proximate to the curved portion  111 . The cord  31  goes through the aperture  161  of the lid  16 . The ear pad  20  sleeves the sound channel  1211  through the opening  21 . The step  1214  of the sound channel  1211  further stabilizes the engagement between the ear pad  20  and the sound channel  1211 . The driving method of the speaker  30  may vary among coil, electrostatic, armature or the like according to cost, frequency, sound quality and life span. 
     The ear pad  20  is conformingly attached to and seals the ear canal such that the air pressure of the space created between the speaker  30  and the ear canal may vary. The transducer (not shown) of the speaker  30  vibrates because of the signal received by the speaker  30 . The chamber  13  and the space between the speaker  30  and the ear canal have different air pressure to create sounds and return the transducer. 
     The sound created by the speaker  30  enters the inner tube  113  through the outlet  112  and then to the sound channel  1211 . The ambient sound enters from one end of the gap  14  to the inner  113  and then the sound channel  1211 . The sound propagates to the ear canal through the opening  21  of the ear pad. Because the inner diameter of the inner tube  113  reduces gradually, the sound from the speaker  30  is more concentrated and the ambient sound from the gap  14  does not interfere therewith. Furthermore, the first wall  11  segregates the chamber  13  and the gap  14  so that the chamber  13  is substantially closed to prevent audio leakage. The width of the gap  14  is relatively short, and in addition to allowing the ambient sound, the aforementioned air pressure may be adjusted as well. The width of the gap  14  may vary according to the dimension of the speaker  30 . 
       FIG. 8  is a partial perspective view illustrating a second embodiment of the in ear headphone  1 ′.  FIG. 9  is a perspective cross-sectional view along C-C of  FIG. 8 .  FIG. 10  is a schematic cross-sectional view along C-C of  FIG. 8 . Referring to  FIGS. 8 ,  9  and  10 , in the second embodiment, the first wall  11  of the main body  10 ′ defines the chamber  13 . The second wall  12 ′ bends around the circumferential portion of the first wall  11  to form the gap  14 . The first and second walls  11 ,  12 ′ collectively form a connection tube  15  toward the direction of the ear canal. In this regard, the chamber  13  opens to the ear canal by an opening  131  while the gap  14  opens to the ear canal by an opening  141 . The ear pad  20  sleeves the connection tube  15  through the opening  21 . In the second embodiment, the second wall  12 ′ bulges from the first wall  11  such that the fabrication of the in ear headphone can be simplified. The dimension of the gap  14  is defined by the second wall  12 ′ and the size may change according to the configuration of the second wall  12 ′. The second wall  12 ′ may extend from the first wall  11  and the instant disclosure is not limited thereto. 
     The speaker  30  is disposed in the chamber  13 . The sound generated by the speaker  30  goes through the opening  131 , which is defined by the connection tube  15 , of the chamber  13  to the opening  21  of the ear pad  20 . The ambient sound goes through the gap  14  to the opening  141  defined by the connection tube  15  to the opening  21  of the ear pad  20 . That is to say, the sound from the speaker  30  and the ambient go through separate routes, the opening  131  and opening  141  respectively, to the opening  21  of the ear pad and then the ear canal. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , in the first embodiment, the in ear headphone  1  also includes a dust proof paper  40 . The dust proof paper  40  covers one end of the gap  14  which directs toward the surrounding air. The dust proof paper  40  prevents foreign particles from entering the gap  14  or contaminating the in ear headphone  1 . However, the dust proof paper  40  is made of air permeable material such that the ambient sound can penetrate the dust proof paper  40 . The dust proof paper  40  has an effect of tone tuning. Specifically the dust proof paper  40  allows only a portion of the ambient sound to enter the gap  14  and to the ear canal. In other words, the sound in the ear canal is dominated by the sound from the speaker  30 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , in the first embodiment, the in ear headphone  1  also includes a tuning paper  60 . The tuning paper  60  is annular and has an inner diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the sound channel  1211  while an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the ring portion  1213 . Also, the tuning paper  60  is made of air permeable material. The tuning paper  60  is disposed on the ring portion  1213  such that the tuning paper  60  seals the gap  14  when the gap  14  is defined by the first and second walls  11 ,  12 . When the air flows through the tuning paper  60 , the tone of the in ear headphone  1  is changed accordingly. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , in the second embodiment, the in ear headphone  1  also includes a mobile lid  50 . The mobile lid  50  is disposed on one end of the gap  14  which is directed toward the ambient air. The arrangement of the mobile lid  50  determines entry of ambient sound. 
     In summary, the first wall defines the chamber and the first and second walls collectively define the gap so that the ambient sound can pass through the gap and enter the ear canal without affecting the air pressure in the chamber. The first wall extends to form an inner tube to concentrate the sound and reduce ambient sound interference. The lid covers one end of the chamber with only the aperture to allow cord access such that the chamber is substantially sealed off, and sound leakage is minimized. The tuning paper is disposed on the ring portion, and the air flowing through the gap passes the tuning paper for modifying tone. 
     The descriptions illustrated supra set forth simply the preferred embodiments of the instant disclosure; however, the characteristics of the instant disclosure are by no means restricted thereto. All changes, alternations, or modifications conveniently considered by those skilled in the art are deemed to be encompassed within the scope of the instant disclosure delineated by the following claims.