Abstract:
A helmet speaker system includes two small side-firing high fidelity speakers and an electronics package contained in a small water resistant plastic housing. Microphones are located close to one or more of the speakers. The speakers, microphone and electronics package are detachable from their respective helmet base mounts to enable the system to be moved from one helmet to the next. The side-firing speakers are positioned vertically, so that the sound is directed generally downward from the speaker when the speakers are attached to a helmet or hat at a location that is above the ear. The side-firing speakers have a very thin profile when viewed from the rider&#39;s front.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/877,243, filed on Sep. 12, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     SUMMARY 
       [0002]    The invention relates to the problem of safely listening to music while riding a bicycle or engaging in other outdoor activities that take place near automobiles and other moving vehicles. Currently, to listen to music or other audio, cyclists typically ride with earphones in one or both ears. This creates a safety concern by isolating the user from the surrounding environment. So much so that many states have laws against riding a bicycle with earphones in both ears and some states disallow earphones completely. Furthermore, earphones require a wire to connect the actual speaker placed in the ear cannel to the music player. This wire is at best an annoyance and at worst a safety issue when is restricts the user&#39;s movement. 
         [0003]    An embodiment of the system consists of two small side-firing high fidelity speakers and an electronics package contained in a small water resistant plastic housing. Microphones are located close to one or more of the speakers. Optionally offered is a small chinstrap mounted microphone so that the cyclist can use their cell phone in a hands free manner while riding. The speakers, microphone and electronics package are detachable from their respective helmet base mounts to enable the system to be moved from one helmet to the next. This is especially beneficial when the customer utilizes different helmets for different types of cycling or weather conditions. It also allows the removal of the system when washing the helmet. 
         [0004]    The side-firing speakers are positioned vertically, so that the sound is directed generally downward from the speaker when the speakers are attached to a helmet or hat at a location that is above the ear. The use of side-firing speakers allows the speaker housing to be exceptionally thin, which among other things, reduces wind noise, reduces the likelihood of being dislodged from the helmet or hat or broken due to accidently hitting or being hit by something, and makes the system more unobtrusive. 
         [0005]    Within the electronics package is a Bluetooth 3.0 receiver, a stereo amplifier, and a lithium-ion battery. The battery provides sufficient power to operate the system in play mode for up to 8 hours and standby for up to 400 hours. 
         [0006]    Music is played by pairing the speaker unit with any Bluetooth 3.0 compatible device. This includes the popular Apple iPhone/iPod and most Android or Windows powered mobile devices. With the device synched to the speaker unit the user simply selects the speaker system from the device and adjusts the volume. When used with a smart phone this even allows the cyclist to enjoy music streamed from services like Pandora. Some embodiments include a handlebar mounted wireless volume control. 
         [0007]    In an alternative embodiment, the unit is hat-mounted so that is usable in activities that do not require a helmet, such as running, jogging, and walking. This would offer the same safety benefits as the cycling helmet embodiments but also eliminate the annoyance of the dangling wire and self-ejecting earphones. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a diagram of an embodiment of a speaker system, with the right speaker housing shown in exploded view. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a photograph showing a side view of an embodiment of a speaker system as it may be connected to a hat. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a photograph showing a rear view of an embodiment of a speaker system as it may be connected to a hat. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a diagram of an embodiment of a speaker system shown in exploded view. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a diagram of an embodiment of a speaker system, with the right speaker housing shown in exploded view. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a diagram showing a side view of an embodiment of a speaker system as it may be connected to a helmet. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a diagram showing a side view of an embodiment of a speaker system as it may alternately be connected to a helmet. 
           [0015]      FIG. 8  is an upward looking perspective view, exploded drawing of an embodiment of a speaker system. 
           [0016]      FIG. 9  is a downward looking perspective view drawing of an embodiment of a speaker system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0017]    An embodiment according to the invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . A speaker system  100  includes an electronics body  110  connected to a right arm  120  and a left arm  125 . At the end of the left arm  125  is a left speaker housing  135 . A right speaker housing  130 , shown in exploded view in  FIG. 1 , is at the end of the right arm  120 . Each speaker housing includes a speaker  140  and a microphone  150 . In some embodiments, however, no microphone is included or a microphone is only included in one of the speaker housings. The speakers  140  and microphones  150  are electrically connected to electronics (not shown) in the electronics body  110  by wire tape  160 . Speaker  140  is a side firing speaker in which the sound produced by the speaker  140  is directed out of the narrow bottom edge  145  of the speaker  140 . Speaker  140  and speaker baffle  170  fit inside a speaker chamber  175  within each speaker housing  130 / 135 . The speaker housing  130 / 135 , speaker  140 , and speaker baffle  170  form a back cavity that improves the sound and performance of the speaker. The speaker system  100  also includes one or more clips  180  for attaching the speaker system  100  to, for example, the lower edge of a hat. An embodiment according to the invention is shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  as it may be positioned relative to a hat using clips  180 . 
         [0018]    In many embodiments the speakers are model RA11x15 speakers with side venting manufactured by Knowles Electronics. The use of side-firing speakers such as the Knowles model RA11x15 speakers allows for a very thin speaker housing which, among other things, reduces wind noise, reduces the likelihood of hitting or being hit by something, and makes the speaker system more unobtrusive. 
         [0019]    In many embodiments the electronics in the electronics body  110  include (now shown), a battery, a Bluetooth receiver, a digital to audio converter and an amplifier. In many embodiments the speaker system  100  includes buttons (shown in other figures) for controlling operations of the speaker system such as volume and Bluetooth pairing. Alternatively or additionally, the same or additional buttons also control operations of a portable audio device, such as play/pause, forward/reverse, and skip track forward/reverse. The portable audio device may include an mp3 player, smart phone, or tablet. In some embodiments, some or all of the buttons are provided in a wireless module that may be mounted, for example, on the handlebars of a bicycle. In some embodiments the wireless connection is a dedicated wireless connection between the button module and the speaker system. In some embodiments the wireless connection is a Bluetooth connection separate from the Bluetooth connection between the speaker system and the portable audio device. In some embodiments the wireless connection is a Bluetooth connection directly between the button module and the portable audio device. 
         [0020]    In some embodiments, the speaker system  100  does not have buttons for controlling operations of the speaker system. In many of these embodiments, the operations of the speaker system are controlled by voice commands. In such embodiments, the electronics in electronics body  510  include a processor that performs voice recognition functions. By using voice commands, the user of the speaker system is able to control the speaker system and the portable audio device with using their hands, allowing them, in the case of a cyclist, to keep both hands on the handlebars. In some embodiments the voice recognition function is performed by the portable audio device connected to the speaker system rather than by the electronics of the speaker system. In some embodiments, the portable audio device includes an application that will send commands back to the speaker system (such as volume up or down or mute) based on the results of the voice recognition performed by the portable audio device. In some embodiments the voice input received from the speaker system is sent by the portable audio system to a cloud-based application which performs the speech recognition function. 
         [0021]    An embodiment according to the invention is shown in  FIG. 4 . The speaker system  400  shown in  FIG. 4  generally corresponds to the speaker system  100  shown in  FIG. 1 . The speaker system  400  is shown in an exploded view that separately shown an inner housing  490  and an outer housing  495 . Fitting between the inner housing  490  and the outer housing  495  are speaker  440 , speaker baffle  470 , wire tape  460 , microphone  450 , and buttons  485 . In some embodiments inner housing  490  and outer housing  495  snap together. In some embodiments inner housing  490  and outer housing  495  are connected to each other by screws. In some embodiments inner housing  490  and outer housing  495  are connected by a combination of snapping and screws. 
         [0022]    An embodiment according to the invention is also shown in  FIG. 5 . The speaker system  500  shown in  FIG. 5  also generally corresponds to the speaker system  100  and speaker system  400  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 4 . Accordingly. Speaker system  500  includes an electronics body  510  connected to a right cable  520  and a left cable  525 . At the end of the left cable  525  is a left speaker housing  535 . A right speaker housing  530 , shown in exploded view in  FIG. 5 , is at the end of the right cable  520 . Each speaker housing includes a speaker  540  and a microphone  550 . In some embodiments, however, no microphone is included or a microphone is only included in one of the speaker housings. The speakers  540  and microphones  550  are electrically connected to electronics (not shown) in the electronics body  510  by wires (not shown) in cables  520 / 525 . Speaker  540  is a side firing speaker in which the sound produced by the speaker  540  is directed out of the narrow bottom edge  545  of the speaker  540 . Speaker  540  and speaker baffle  570  fit inside a speaker chamber  575  within each speaker housing  530 / 535 . The speaker housing  530 / 535 , speaker  540 , and speaker baffle  570  form a back cavity that improves the sound and performance of the speaker. 
         [0023]    The speaker system  500  also includes one or more clips  180  for attaching the electronics body  510  and the speaker housings  530 ,  535  to, for example, a bicycle helmet. An embodiment according to the invention is shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7  as the electronics body and a speaker housing may be positioned relative to a bicycle helmet using clips  580 .  FIGS. 6 and 7  both show a speaker housing clipped to one of the straps that go under a riders chin to hold the helmet in place.  FIGS. 6 and 7  show two different exemplary ways in which a speaker housing may be clipped to a strap of a bicycle helmet. 
         [0024]    In many embodiments the speakers are model RA11x15 speakers with side venting manufactured by Knowles Electronics as described above in more detail. 
         [0025]    In many embodiments the electronics in the electronics body  510  include (now shown), a battery, a Bluetooth receiver, a digital to audio converter and an amplifier. In many embodiments the speaker system  500  includes buttons (not shown) for controlling operations of the speaker system such as volume and Bluetooth pairing and alternatively or additionally, controlling operations of a portable audio device, such as play/pause, forward/reverse, and skip track forward/reverse, as described more completely above. 
         [0026]    Another embodiment of the speaker system is shown in  FIG. 8 . This embodiment is similar to the embodiments discussed above. In this embodiment, the outer housing  895  is made from polycarbonate material and the inner housing  890  is made of a silicone material. In other embodiments the outer housing is made of a material that is similarly impact resistant to polycarbonate material. In other embodiments the inner housing  890  is made of similarly flexible and/or soft material to silicone material. This embodiment also includes a USB port  885  in the electronics package. A portable audio device can be connected by wire through the USB port  885  rather than by using a Bluetooth or other wireless connection. In some embodiments the USB port  885  is substituted or supplemented with a 3.5 mm audio jack, another type of wired audio connection, or a combination of two or more of these (not shown). 
         [0027]    Another embodiment of the speaker system is shown in  FIG. 9 , in completely assembled form.