Patent Description:
In the related art, a noise-cancellation earphone can be divided into two categories, one is a head-mounted earmuff that wraps the ear, and the other one is an in-ear earplug that is inserted into the ear. Regardless whether the former or the latter, passive noise-cancellation materials are used as much as possible to absorb noise so as to create a closed space, and then active noise-cancellation technology is used to cancel noise. However, the effects of the two categories are weak. The head-mounted earmuff has advantages of bone conduction reduction and long battery life. The in-ear earplug has a small sound space, which is more conducive to active noise cancellation. At present, the noise-cancellation effect of the in-ear earplug is substantively the same as that of the head-mounted earmuff, but they both cannot achieve the mute effect desired by consumers.

Document <CIT> discloses a combination of an earmuff and an in-ear earphone for active noise cancellation. Each of documents <CIT> and <CIT> discloses a headphone with protruding elements on the side of the headband facing the user's head when the headphone is worn.

In order to overcome the problems in the related art, the present disclosure provides a headphone and a multi-stage noise-cancellation earphone assembly.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a headphone according to claim <NUM> is provided. The headphone is configured to be used in combination with an in-ear earphone, and includes: an earmuff configured to be fitted over an auricle; an earmuff pickup arranged on an outer side of the earmuff and configured to collect an environmental sound; and a first speaker arranged on an inner side of the earmuff and configured to perform at least one of following actions: playing a noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earmuff pickup, or playing an audio. When the headphone is in use, the inner side of the earmuff and the auricle define an accommodating space for accommodating a part of the in-ear earphone exposed out of an external auditory canal.

In some embodiments, the headphone further includes an air inlet arranged on the outer side of the earmuff; an air blower arranged on the earmuff and communicated with the air inlet; and an air duct configured to communicate the air inlet with the in-ear earphone.

In some embodiments, the headphone further includes a charging cable configured to connect a battery of the headphone to a battery of the in-ear earphone.

According to the invention, the headphone further includes: a skeleton, two ends of the skeleton being each connected to one earmuff; and a support body arranged on a side of the skeleton facing a user's head when the headphone is worn, and configured for preventing the skeleton from coming into contact with the head.

According to the invention, the support body includes a plurality of support columns, and the plurality of support columns are distributed on the skeleton at intervals in an array.

In some embodiments, the headphone further includes an earmuff-sealing ring arranged at an end of the earmuff adjacent to the auricle for closing the accommodating space.

In some embodiments, the headphone is configured as a wired earphone or a wireless earphone.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a multi-stage noise-cancellation earphone assembly according to claim <NUM> is provided, including the headphone as described in the first aspect; and an in-ear earphone. When the multi-stage noise-cancellation earphone assembly is in use, an in-ear end of the in-ear earphone is located in the external auditory canal, and the part of the in-ear earphone exposed out of the external auditory canal is located in the accommodating space defined by the earmuff and the auricle.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone includes a second speaker arranged at the in-ear end of the in-ear earphone and configured to play an audio.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone further includes an earphone pickup configured to collect a sound in the accommodating space, and the second speaker is further configured to play a noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the sound collected by the earphone pickup.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone further includes: an air intake port arranged at a rear end of the in-ear earphone opposite to the in-ear end; an air exhaust port arranged at the second speaker; and an air channel communicating the air intake port with the air exhaust port.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone further includes an earplug head arranged at the in-ear end of the in-ear earphone and configured to close the external auditory canal.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone and the headphone are detachably connected.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone is configured as a wireless earphone.

The headphone and the auricle define the accommodating space for accommodating the in-ear headphone. The headphone may be used separately or in combination with any in-ear headphone. By the combination of the headphone and the in-ear headphone, the noise is canceled by the active or passive noise cancellation of the in-ear headphone as well as the active noise cancellation and the passive noise cancellation of the headphone, thus achieving a multi-stage noise cancellation and a better noise cancellation effect. The problem of insufficient noise cancellation is solved, and the noise cancellation effect is greatly improved.

It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are only illustrative and explanatory and cannot limit the present disclosure.

The drawings herein are incorporated into the description and constitute a part of the description. The drawings show embodiments that conform to the present disclosure, and are used together with the description to explain the principle of the present disclosure.

Illustrative embodiments will be described in detail herein, examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, same numerals in different drawings refer to the same or similar elements, unless otherwise indicated. The implementations described in the following illustrative embodiments do not represent all embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Instead, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present disclosure, as detailed in the appended claims.

Headphones with noise-cancellation technology can bring people more optimized sound effects. The current noise-cancellation technology includes active noise cancellation and passive noise cancellation. The active noise cancellation is to generate a reverse sound wave equal to an external noise through a noise-cancellation system to neutralize the noise, thereby achieving the noise-cancellation effect. The passive noise cancellation includes noise cancellation at a sound source, noise cancellation during propagation, and noise cancellation at the human ear. The passive noise cancellation at the human ear is mainly implemented by surrounding the ear to form a closed space, or using sound-insulating materials such as silicone earplugs to block the external noise.

For the passive noise cancellation, since the working principle of a passive noise-cancellation earphone does not involve the processes of collection and calculation, the structure of the passive noise-cancellation headphone is simple and reliable, and its manufacturing requirement and technical content are relatively low. In addition, because the passive noise-cancellation earphone does not cause interference to the music itself, the sound quality of the passive noise-cancellation earphone is better than that of an active noise-cancellation headphone. Most importantly, the passive noise-cancellation earphone does not need a battery and can be used at any time. Therefore, this technology is widely applied to an in-ear earphone, and current various in-ear earphones are typical passive noise-cancellation earphones. The active noise-cancellation earphone is even more demanding. Because the most advanced electronic device is used to collect and process the surrounding noise, the noise-cancellation effect of the active noise-cancellation earphone is significantly better than that of the passive noise-cancellation earphone. However, since the entire noise-cancellation process is a computational process, it may affect the sound quality of the earphone to some extent. In addition, the active noise-cancellation earphone must have a power supply.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a headphone is provided. As shown in <FIG>, the headphone includes: an earmuff configured to be fitted over an auricle; an earmuff pickup arranged on an outer side of the earmuff to collect an environmental sound; and a first speaker arranged on an inner side of the earmuff to play a noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earmuff pickup, and/or to play an audio. When the headphone is in use, the inner side of the earmuff and the auricle define an accommodating space for accommodating a part of an in-ear earphone exposed out of an external auditory canal. The speaker, also known as a horn, is an electro-acoustic device that can convert electrical energy into sound energy. The principle of the speaker is that a current passes through a coil in a magnetic circuit composed of magnets to generate driving forces in up and down directions to vibrate a vibrating body, and then the air vibrates to make a sound.

In an embodiment, the headphone <NUM> includes an earmuff <NUM>. The earmuff <NUM> can be fitted over an in-ear earphone <NUM>. Specifically, the earmuff <NUM> is arranged at an auricle <NUM>, and an accommodating space is defined between the earmuff <NUM> and the auricle <NUM> for accommodating a part of the in-ear earphone <NUM> exposed out of an external auditory canal <NUM>. The earmuff <NUM> can be fitted over the auricle <NUM> and fitted with the auricle <NUM>. Since the in-ear earphone <NUM> is inserted into the external auditory canal <NUM>, when the earmuff <NUM> is arranged at the auricle <NUM>, the in-ear earphone <NUM> is covered.

The earmuff <NUM> of the headphone <NUM> is arranged outside the in-ear earphone <NUM>. On one hand, when used in winter, the headphone can keep warm, protect the auricle <NUM> from cold, and ensure the normal use of the in-ear earphone <NUM> in cold weather. On the other hand, the earmuff <NUM> is arranged outside the in-ear headphone <NUM>, the effect of a sound box can be achieved, thus improving the sound quality of the in-ear headphone <NUM>. Since the earmuff <NUM> is fitted over the in-ear headphone <NUM> and fitted with the auricle <NUM>, a relatively closed environment is formed from the auricle <NUM> to an entrance of the external auditory canal <NUM>, which reduces the interference of the external noise and improves the audio playing effect of the in-ear earphone <NUM>.

In an embodiment, the headphone <NUM> further includes a first speaker <NUM> arranged on an inner side of the earmuff <NUM>, that is, the first speaker <NUM> is arranged at an end adjacent to the auricle <NUM>. An audio played by the first speaker <NUM> causes the air in the external auditory canal <NUM> to vibrate, the vibration reaches a tympanic membrane to cause a mechanical movement of an ossicular chain, the vibration of a stapes footplate causes a movement of a vestibular window, the energy is transferred to inner and outer lymph fluids in a cochlea and becomes liquid vibration, the movement of hair cells on a basement membrane produces a bioelectrical activity, and nerve impulses reach the auditory cortex center along uploading nerve pathways by virtue of the auditory nerve to produce hearing.

In an embodiment, the headphone <NUM> further includes an earmuff pickup <NUM>. The earmuff pickup <NUM> is arranged on an outer side of the earmuff <NUM> for collecting the environmental sound. Specifically, an active noise-cancellation system must have a pickup, a processing chip, and a speaker. The pickup is such a device that can collect a live environmental sound and then transmit it to a back-end device. The pickup includes a microphone, a circuit board, a signal transmission cable, or the like. The headphone <NUM> is provided with the earmuff pickup <NUM> arranged on the outer side of the earmuff <NUM> to collect an external environmental sound. The microphone of the earmuff pickup <NUM> can sample the noise heard by the human ear and the sampled noise is then transmitted to the processing chip in the headphone <NUM> via the circuit board and the signal transmission cable. The processing chip reverses and amplifies the noise collected by the earmuff pickup <NUM>, and then drives the first speaker <NUM> to play an "anti-noise". Playing the "anti-noise" is to play a noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earmuff pickup <NUM>, so as to cancel the noise transmitted from the outside into the human ear through the earmuff <NUM>. From this, it can be seen that based on the combination of the earmuff pickup <NUM> and the first speaker <NUM> of the headphone <NUM>, the headphone <NUM> can achieve the active noise cancellation. It should be noted that when the headphone <NUM> is used in combination with the in-ear earphone <NUM>, the first speaker <NUM> of the headphone <NUM> is only configured to play the noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earmuff pickup <NUM> rather than playing an audio selected by a user. The audio selected by the user is played by a second speaker <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM>. When the headphone <NUM> is used separately, the first speaker <NUM> of the headphone <NUM> can simultaneously play the noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earmuff pickup <NUM> and the audio selected by the user.

The purpose of the headphone <NUM> including the first speaker <NUM> and the earmuff pickup <NUM> is that the headphone <NUM> is provided with the earmuff <NUM> that can be fitted over the part of the in-ear earphone <NUM> exposed out of the external auditory canal <NUM>. When the headphone <NUM> is used separately, the first speaker <NUM> can play the audio and the noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earmuff pickup, thereby achieving the active noise cancellation. When the headphone <NUM> is used in combination with the in-ear earphone <NUM>, the first speaker <NUM> can play the noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earmuff pickup, thereby providing an environment after the active noise cancellation for the in-ear earphone <NUM> and reducing the interference of the external noise. Moreover, the headphone <NUM> can be detached, so that the in-ear earphone <NUM> can be used separately or the headphone <NUM> can be used separately. When the headphone <NUM> is used separately, the pressure of the headphone <NUM> on the auricle <NUM> is small. Since the headphone <NUM> can be separated from the earphone <NUM> and used separately, the user can use different earphones in different environments. In a noisy and irregular environment, the user can choose the in-ear earphone <NUM>, and the in-ear earphone <NUM> can partially blocks mid- frequency and high-frequency noises, but cannot obviously block low-frequency noise. In a relatively quiet and regular environment, the headphone <NUM> can be selected. For example, the active noise cancellation can effectively cancel the low-frequency noise by more than <NUM>%, and most of the noises in life is the low-frequency noise, such as environmental noises in e.g. buses, subways, high-speed rails, trains, cars, buses, airplanes, gyms, bars, etc..

In some embodiments, the headphone <NUM> further includes: an air inlet, an air blower <NUM> and an air duct <NUM>. The air inlet is arranged on the outer side of the earmuff <NUM>, the air blower <NUM> is arranged on the earmuff <NUM> and in communication with the air inlet, and the air duct <NUM> is configured to communicate the air inlet with the in-ear earphone <NUM>. When the headphone <NUM> is used in combination with the in-ear earphone <NUM>, the air duct <NUM> may allow the air outside the earmuff <NUM> to enter the in-ear earphone <NUM> and further enter the external auditory canal <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the headphone <NUM> further includes a charging cable <NUM>. The charging cable <NUM> is configured to connect the headphone <NUM> to a battery <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the in-ear earphone <NUM> is provided with the battery <NUM>, and power stored in the battery <NUM> can power the in-ear earphone <NUM>. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> enables an active noise-cancellation mode, both an earphone pickup <NUM> and the processing chip require power supply.

The headphone further includes a charging cable <NUM>, and the charging cable <NUM> can charge the battery <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM>. That is, one end of the charging cable <NUM> is connected to the in-ear earphone <NUM>, and the other end of the charging cable <NUM> may be connected to a plug, or the other end of the charging cable <NUM> may also be connected to the headphone <NUM>. In other words, the battery <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM> can be charged by an external charging device. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> is used in combination with the headphone <NUM>, the battery <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM> may be charged by the headphone <NUM>.

In addition, when the headphone <NUM> charges the battery <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM>, the two ends of the charging cable <NUM> are respectively connected to the headphone <NUM> and the battery <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM>, and the two ends of the charging cable <NUM> can be separated from the headphone <NUM> and the earphone <NUM>, which ensures the comfort and aesthetics of the headphone <NUM> and the earphone <NUM> when they are used separately. The headphone <NUM> in this case may be configured as a wireless earphone or a wired earphone. Further, when the in-ear earphone <NUM> is low in power, the headphone <NUM>, as a supporting device, can be used as a power supply to charge the in-ear earphone <NUM>. After being charged, the in-ear earphone <NUM> can be used separately; or, the headphone <NUM> can be used in combination with the in-ear earphone <NUM> while charging the in-ear earphone <NUM>.

According to the invention, the headphone <NUM> further includes a skeleton <NUM>. Two ends of the skeleton <NUM> are each connected to one earmuff <NUM>, and a side of the skeleton <NUM> facing the head is provided with a support body <NUM> for preventing the skeleton <NUM> from coming into contact with the head.

As shown in <FIG>, the skeleton <NUM> for connection is often arranged between two earmuffs <NUM> of the headphone <NUM>. The two ends of the skeleton <NUM> are each connected to one earmuff <NUM>. When the headphone <NUM> is worn, the skeleton <NUM> is in contact with a head <NUM> of the user. When the headphone <NUM> does not need to be worn, the skeleton <NUM> can be hung on the neck of the user. Therefore, the skeleton <NUM> can prevent the earmuff <NUM> from sliding and falling off to be broken or lost under the action of gravity, or prevent the earmuff <NUM> from falling off due to strong vibration during exercise. In addition, since the skeleton <NUM> is in contact with the head <NUM> of the user, the skeleton <NUM> has an arc shape, and the bending radian of the skeleton <NUM> corresponds to the radian of the head <NUM> or the neck of the user, which can ensure the user's comfort. The skeleton <NUM> may have a flat structure, so that the contact area between the headphone <NUM> and the head <NUM> is large and the pressure is small. The skeleton <NUM> may be made of materials such as polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, or polytetrafluoroethylene. Moreover, the skeleton <NUM> has elasticity and a clamping force. When the user uses the headphone <NUM>, the clamping force of the skeleton <NUM> allows the earmuffs <NUM> at the two ends of the skeleton <NUM> to be fitted with the auricle <NUM> of the ears more closely, so that a more closed space is formed between the earmuff <NUM> and the auricle <NUM>, and thus a better passive noise-cancellation effect is achieved, thereby improving the user experience.

As shown in <FIG>, the support body <NUM> is arranged on the side of the skeleton <NUM> facing the user's head <NUM>. When the user wears the headphone <NUM>, the support body <NUM> can separate the skeleton <NUM> from the user's head <NUM> by a certain distance without contact. On one hand, the headphone <NUM> can be adapted to the head shapes of different users to become more fit and stable. On the other hand, the support body <NUM> ensures a distance between the skeleton <NUM> and the head <NUM>, which can prevent the skeleton <NUM> from pressing against the head <NUM> and ruining the hairstyle, thereby solving the problem that the skeleton <NUM> crushes the hair and ruins the hairstyle. In addition, when the user wears the headphone <NUM> during exercise, the distance between the skeleton <NUM> and the head <NUM> also helps to dissipate heat, and can also prevent the skeleton <NUM> from erosions by perspiration or the like on the user's head <NUM>, so as to effectively prevent sweat erosion, thereby prolonging the service life of the skeleton <NUM>.

In addition, a side of the support body <NUM> in contact with the head <NUM> may have an arc shape which corresponds to the radian of the head <NUM>. The support body <NUM> may be fixedly arranged on the skeleton <NUM> or may be detachably arranged on the skeleton <NUM>. The user may also adjust the length of the support body <NUM> according to the intensity of exercise or the use temperature, that is, the distance between the skeleton <NUM> and the user's head <NUM> can be adjusted. By adjusting the length of the support body <NUM>, the headphone <NUM> can be adapted to the heads <NUM> of different users. Specifically, the user adjusts the length of the support body <NUM> according to the size or shape of the head <NUM>, so that the head <NUM> can come into contact with the headphone <NUM> through three points, including two earmuffs <NUM> and one support body <NUM>, and thus the user feels more comfortable and stable when wearing the headphone <NUM>.

According to the invention, the support body <NUM> includes a plurality of support pillars, and the plurality of support pillars are distributed on the skeleton <NUM> at intervals in an array. As shown in <FIG>, one end of each support column is arranged on the side of the skeleton <NUM> adjacent to the head <NUM>, and the other end of the support column is provided with an arc-shaped ball. When the arc-shaped ball is in contact with the user's head <NUM>, the user's head <NUM> can be prevented from being scratched by the support column. The support body <NUM> includes the plurality of support pillars which can increase the ventilation environment and save materials. As further shown in <FIG> which is an enlarged bottom view of part A in <FIG>, the plurality of support pillars are arranged in columns and lines on the side of the skeleton <NUM> facing the head <NUM>. The support pillars in two adjacent columns are staggered in a longitudinal direction, and the support pillars in two adjacent rows are staggered in a transverse direction, so that the plurality of support pillars are uniformly distributed on the skeleton <NUM>, and thus an even force can be applied to the head <NUM>, thereby improving the stability of the headphone <NUM> worn on the head <NUM> and enhancing the comfort of the user wearing the headphone <NUM>. In addition, each support column may also be provided therein with a vibration motor which can cause the support column to vibrate. The plurality of vibrating support pillars, in combination with the arc-shaped balls at the ends of the plurality of support pillars in contact with the head <NUM>, can massage the scalp of the user's head <NUM>. In addition, as shown in <FIG>, the support pillars are not of the same length, so that the ends of the plurality of support pillars adjacent to the head <NUM> form an arc surface corresponding to the head <NUM>, thereby improving the comfort of the user.

In some embodiments, the headphone <NUM> further includes an earmuff-sealing ring <NUM> arranged at an end of a housing of the headphone <NUM> adjacent to the ear. Specifically, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the earmuff-sealing ring <NUM> has a filtering effect on sound. When the earmuff <NUM> is fitted with the auricle <NUM>, since the auricle <NUM> is not flat, there will be a gap between the earmuff <NUM> and the auricle <NUM>, so that the external noise enters the earmuff <NUM> through the gap. The earmuff-sealing ring <NUM> is arranged at the end of the headphone <NUM> adjacent to the ear. The earmuff-sealing ring <NUM> is soft and can be fitted with the skin of the auricle <NUM>, so as to isolate a lot of noise from the outside, thus improving the sound quality experience.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a multi-stage noise-cancellation earphone assembly is provided. As shown in <FIG>, the multi-stage noise-cancellation earphone assembly includes an in-ear earphone <NUM> and a headphone <NUM>. The in-ear earphone <NUM> is located in the accommodating space defined by the headphone <NUM> and the auricle <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the in-ear earphone <NUM> includes a second speaker <NUM> arranged at an in-ear end of the in-ear earphone <NUM> and configured to play an audio. When the headphone <NUM> is used in combination with the in-ear earphone <NUM>, the earmuff <NUM> of the headphone <NUM> is fitted with the auricle <NUM> of the human ear, thus achieving a function of physical noise cancellation, that is, the passive noise cancellation. Under the support of the speaker, the in-ear earphone <NUM> achieves an audio output function. The second speaker <NUM> is inserted into the external auditory canal <NUM> of the user. The audio played by the first speaker <NUM> causes the air in the external auditory canal <NUM> to vibrate, the vibration reaches a tympanic membrane to cause a mechanical movement of an ossicular chain, the vibration of the stapes footplate causes a movement of the vestibular window, the energy is transferred to inner and outer lymph fluids in a cochlea and becomes liquid vibration, the movement of hair cells on a basement membrane produces a bioelectrical activity, and nerve impulses reach the auditory cortex center along uploading nerve pathways by virtue of the auditory nerve to produce hearing.

The earmuff pickup <NUM> of the headphone <NUM> can be combined with the first speaker <NUM>, which may also achieve the function of active noise cancellation. Therefore, by the combination of the earmuff <NUM> of the headphone <NUM>, the earmuff pickup <NUM> and the first speaker <NUM>, both the passive noise cancellation and the active noise cancellation can be achieved at the same time. The passive noise cancellation of the headphone <NUM> physically provides a closed environment for the in-ear earphone <NUM> and hinders the interference of external noise. The active noise cancellation of the headphone <NUM> filters out part of the noise in the environment in advance for the in-ear earphone <NUM>. By the combination of the passive noise cancellation and the active noise cancellation of the headphone <NUM> with the passive noise cancellation of the in-ear earphone <NUM>, the problem of insufficient noise cancellation is solved through the multi-stage superposition, and the noise-cancellation effect is greatly improved. When the headphone <NUM> is used separately, the functions of the passive noise cancellation and the active noise cancellation of the headphone <NUM> itself can help the user avoid noise interference and adjust the mood. The headphone <NUM> isolates the noise damage to the eardrum.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone <NUM> further includes an earphone pickup <NUM>. Specifically, the working principle of the earphone pickup <NUM> is the same with the working principle of the earmuff pickup <NUM>. The earphone pickup <NUM> may be configured to collect an environmental sound, and the second speaker <NUM> may also be configured to play a noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earphone pickup <NUM>. The in-ear earphone <NUM> may include two modes, i.e. an active noise-cancellation mode and a passive noise-cancellation mode. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> is in the passive noise-cancellation mode, the active noise-cancellation mode is disabled. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> is in the active noise-cancellation mode, the active noise-cancellation mode is enabled. The earphone pickup <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM> is located on a side away from the in-ear end.

When the in-ear earphone <NUM> is used separately, the earphone pickup <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM> can collect the external environmental sound, a microphone of the earphone pickup <NUM> may sample the noise heard by the human ear and the sampled noise is then transmitted to a processing chip in the in-ear earphone <NUM> via a circuit board and a signal transmission cable of the earphone pickup <NUM>. The processing chip reverses and amplifies the noise collected by the earphone pickup <NUM>, and then drives the second speaker <NUM> to play an "anti-noise". Playing the "anti-noise" involves playing a noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earphone pickup <NUM>, so as to cancel the noise transmitted from the outside into the human ear through the in-ear earphone <NUM>. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> is used in combination with the headphone <NUM>, the in-ear earphone <NUM> may enable the active noise-cancellation mode, and the headphone <NUM> may also enable the active noise-cancellation mode; or, the in-ear earphone <NUM> may enable the active noise-cancellation mode and the headphone <NUM> adopts the passive noise-cancellation mode; or, the in-ear earphone <NUM> adopts the passive noise-cancellation mode and the headphone <NUM> enables the active noise-cancellation mode; or, both the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> adopt the passive noise-cancellation mode at the same time.

When the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> are used in combination and both enable the active noise-cancellation mode, the working process of the headphone <NUM> and the in-ear earphone <NUM> is as follows.

The earmuff pickup <NUM> on the outer side of the earmuff <NUM> of the headphone <NUM> collects a sound in the external environmental of the earmuff <NUM>. After the processing by the processing chip of the headphone <NUM>, the first speaker <NUM> plays a sound in an opposite phase to the noise collected by the earmuff pickup <NUM> so as to neutralize the noise of the external environment. Since the in-ear earphone <NUM> is wrapped in the closed space defined by the headphone <NUM> and the auricle <NUM>, the earphone pickup <NUM> is configured to collect a sound in the closed space. The sound in the closed space in this case is the sound obtained after the active noise-cancellation system of the headphone <NUM> neutralizes the noise of the external environment. After the processing by the processing chip of the in-ear earphone <NUM>, the second speaker <NUM> plays a sound in an opposite phase to the noise collected by the earphone pickup <NUM> so as to neutralize the sound in the external environment and the closed space. In addition, the second speaker <NUM> also plays an audio sound selected by the user. Both the in-ear headphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> themselves have the function of passive noise cancellation. After both headphones enable the active noise cancellation, a four-stage noise cancellation is achieved by the active noise cancellation and the passive noise cancellation of the headphone <NUM> as well as the active noise cancellation and the passive noise cancellation of the in-ear headphone <NUM>.

When the in-ear headphone <NUM> enables the active noise cancellation and the headphone <NUM> adopts the passive noise cancellation, the noise-cancellation process of the headphone <NUM> and the in-ear headphone <NUM> is as follows.

In the closed space defined by the headphone <NUM> and the auricle <NUM>, the passive noise-cancellation material of the headphone <NUM> filters out part of the external noise. The earphone pickup <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM> collects the sound in the closed space in this case. After the sampled sound is processed by the processing chip of the in-ear earphone <NUM>, the second speaker <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM> plays a sound in an opposite phase to the sound collected by the earphone pickup <NUM> and also plays an audio sound selected by the user. In this case, a three-stage noise cancellation is achieved by the passive noise cancellation of the headphone <NUM> as well as the active noise cancellation and the passive noise cancellation of the in-ear earphone <NUM>.

When the in-ear earphone <NUM> adopts the passive noise cancellation and the headphone <NUM> enables the active noise cancellation, the noise-cancellation process of the headphone <NUM> and the in-ear earphone <NUM> is as follows.

The earmuff pickup <NUM> of the headphone <NUM> collects the sound of the external environment. After the processing by the processing chip of the headphone <NUM>, the first speaker <NUM> plays the noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earmuff pickup <NUM>, so as to cancel the noise transmitted from the outside into the human ear through the earmuff <NUM>. Subsequently, the passive noise cancellation is achieved by the passive noise-cancellation material of the in-ear earphone <NUM>, and the second speaker <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM> plays the audio sound selected by the user. In this case, a three-stage noise cancellation is achieved by the passive noise cancellation and the active noise cancellation of the headphone <NUM> as well as the passive noise cancellation of the in-ear earphone <NUM>.

It should be noted that whether the in-ear earphone <NUM> adopts the active noise-cancellation mode or the passive noise-cancellation mode and whether the headphone <NUM> adopts the active noise-cancellation mode or the passive noise-cancellation mode can be selected by the user at will according to the use environment, so as to achieve the multi-stage noise cancellation, which is not limited specifically herein. The above description is provided as specific embodiments for illustration, but should not be understood as limitation on the scope of the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> are detachably connected. It can be seen from the above description that the in-ear earphone <NUM> may be configured as an earphone having the passive noise cancellation, or an earphone that combines the active noise cancellation and the passive noise cancellation. Similarly, the headphone <NUM> may also be configured as a headphone having the passive noise cancellation, or a headphone that combines the active noise cancellation and the passive noise cancellation. As mentioned above, the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> may be used as earphones separately or in combination. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> are used in combination, the headphone <NUM> has the skeleton, and the two ends of the skeleton are each connected to one earmuff <NUM>. Through the skeleton and the clamping force of the two earmuffs <NUM> on the auricle <NUM> of the head, a friction force is generated so that the headphone <NUM> is fixed at the auricle <NUM>. The in-ear end of the in-ear earphone <NUM> is inserted into the external auditory canal <NUM> to achieve a fixing effect. Therefore, there may be no connector between the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM>.

The detachable connection between the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> means that the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> can be connected together by a connector. The connector may be a flexible connector or a fixed connector. The flexible connector may be a flexible connecting wire or the like, and the fixed connector may refer to a snap joint connection, or the like. The connector allows the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> to be detachably connected. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> and the headphone <NUM> are used at the same time, the two may be integrated to prevent one of them from falling and hence affecting the noise-cancellation effect. In addition, the connector also brings convenience for storage and arrangement. When the multi-stage noise-cancellation earphone assembly is not in use, the two earphones may be stored in one place, thereby preventing the headphone <NUM> or the in-ear earphone <NUM> from being lost due to separate placement.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone <NUM> further includes an air intake port, an air channel and an air exhaust port <NUM>. The air intake port is arranged at a rear end opposite to the in-ear end, the air exhaust port <NUM> is arranged at the in-ear end, and the air channel communicates the air intake port with the air exhaust port <NUM>.

The air intake port is configured to adjust an air pressure in the external auditory canal <NUM>. Sound is transmitted to the human ear by sound waves. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> is inserted into the external auditory canal <NUM>, the environment in the external auditory canal <NUM> becomes a closed environment. The sound heard by the ear may be a little dull, and the sound quality will change a little. A small hole (i.e., the air exhaust port <NUM>) is formed in a side of the in-ear earphone <NUM> to balance the air pressures inside and outside the external auditory canal <NUM>, thereby ensuring the sound quality and protecting the hearing of the ear.

An earphone body of the in-ear earphone <NUM> is provided with the air intake port and the air exhaust port <NUM>, and the air intake port and the air exhaust port <NUM> are communicated by the air channel. The air intake port and the air exhaust port <NUM> are both located in the earphone body of the in-ear earphone <NUM>. The air exhaust port <NUM> is located at the in-ear end of the in-ear earphone <NUM>. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> is inserted into the external ear canal <NUM>, the air exhaust port <NUM> also enters the external auditory canal <NUM> together. The air exhaust port <NUM> is in communication with the external auditory canal <NUM> so as to adjust the air pressure in the external auditory canal <NUM>. The air intake port is located at a rear end of the earphone body of the in-ear earphone <NUM> away from the in-ear end, and the air intake port is in communication with the air outside the in-ear earphone <NUM> so that the outside air enters the air intake port. The air channel for communication between the air intake port and the air exhaust port <NUM> is located in the earphone body of the in-ear earphone <NUM>. As can be seen from the above description, the air intake port of the in-ear earphone <NUM> is in communication with the outside air, the air exhaust port <NUM> is in communication with the air in the external auditory canal <NUM>, and the air channel communicates the air intake port with the air exhaust port <NUM> so that the air in the external auditory canal <NUM> comes into communication with the air outside the in-ear earphone <NUM>, thereby balancing the air pressure in the external auditory canal <NUM>. When the in-ear earphone <NUM> is used separately, the air outside the in-ear earphone <NUM> passes through the air intake port of the in-ear earphone <NUM> and comes into communication with the air in the external auditory canal <NUM> via the air channel and the air exhaust port <NUM> so as to balance the air pressure in the external auditory canal <NUM>.

When the in-ear earphone <NUM> is used in combination with the headphone <NUM>, since the headphone <NUM> is provided with the air inlet and the air inlet is formed on the outer side of the earmuff <NUM>, the air outside the earmuff <NUM> can enter the air inlet. In addition, the air inlet of the headphone <NUM> is in communication with the air intake port of the in-ear earphone <NUM> through the air duct <NUM>, so that the air outside the earmuff <NUM> of the headphone <NUM> enters the air intake port of the in-ear earphone <NUM> through the air duct <NUM> from the air inlet of the headphone <NUM>, and then comes into communication with the air in the external auditory canal <NUM> through the air channel and the air exhaust port <NUM> of the in-ear earphone <NUM>, thereby balancing the air pressure in the external auditory canal <NUM>. In addition, when the in-ear earphone <NUM> is used in combination with the headphone <NUM>, the air blower <NUM> may be arranged at the air inlet, and the air outside the earmuff <NUM> of the headphone <NUM> can be actively sent into the air inlet of the headphone <NUM> by the rotation of the air blower <NUM>. In this way, the situation where the air outside the earmuff <NUM> cannot come into communication with the air in the external auditory canal <NUM> due to the length or backfin of the air duct <NUM> can be avoided. Moreover, the air circulation and communication between the air outside the earmuff <NUM> and the air in the external ear canal <NUM> can also be sped up, and the active air supply better solves the problem of the stuffiness inside the in-ear earphone <NUM>.

In addition, the air duct <NUM> is detachably arranged between the air inlet and the air intake port. When the headphone <NUM> is separated from the in-ear earphone <NUM> and used separately, the two ends of the air duct <NUM> can be detached from the air inlet of the headphone <NUM> and the air intake port of the in-ear earphone <NUM>, respectively. In this way, when the headphone <NUM> and the in-ear earphone <NUM> are used separately, the air duct <NUM> will not affect the appearance and comfort. In addition, the air duct <NUM> may be made of a soft material or a hard material. When the air duct <NUM> is made of the soft material, it can be bent at will in the closed space defined by the inner side of the earmuff <NUM> and the auricle <NUM> according to the use environment. When the air duct <NUM> is made of the hard material, that is, the shape and structure of the air duct <NUM> are fixed and cannot be bent or changed, the phenomenon that the air duct <NUM> cannot be communicated due to non-human external forces can be avoided.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone <NUM> further includes an earplug head <NUM>. The earplug head <NUM> is arranged at the in-ear end of the in-ear earphone <NUM>, and the air exhaust port <NUM> is located at the second speaker <NUM>.

Specifically, the in-ear end of the in-ear earphone <NUM> is inserted into the external auditory canal <NUM> of the ear, and the second speaker <NUM> is arranged at the in-ear end, so that the audio played by the second speaker <NUM> can be received by the human ear. The earplug head <NUM> is arranged outside of the in-ear end of the in-ear earphone <NUM> and surrounds the in-ear end.

The earplug head <NUM> may be made of a silicone material. Since the sound contact area of the in-ear earphone <NUM> is small, the pressure on the interior of the cochlea is relatively large. The earplug head <NUM> arranged at the in-ear end of the in-ear earphone <NUM> can reduce part of the pressure. The earplug head <NUM> is formed by processing and mold-pressing environmentally friendly soft silicone materials according to the ergonomic design. The biggest characteristic of the earplug head <NUM> lies in that the in-ear earphone <NUM> can be worn conveniently and comfortably, the damage to the ear by the in-ear end of the in-ear earphone <NUM> can be avoided, and the pain caused by the long-term wearing of the in-ear earphone can be addressed. With the earplug head <NUM>, the user can do exercise more freely when wearing the earphone. In addition, the earplug head <NUM> also prevents the earphone from falling off due to strong vibrations during exercise, effectively protects earphone wires from erosions by perspiration or the like, and effectively prevents sweat erosion, thereby prolonging the service life of the earphone.

It can be seen from the above description that since the air exhaust port <NUM> is arranged at the in-ear end, the air exhaust port <NUM> can come into communication with the external auditory canal <NUM> when the in-ear end of the in-ear earphone <NUM> is inserted into the external auditory canal <NUM>. The second speaker <NUM> is also arranged at the in-ear end, so the air exhaust port <NUM> is also arranged at the second speaker <NUM>. The air exhaust port <NUM> can balance the air pressures inside and outside the external auditory canal <NUM>, thereby ensuring the sound quality and protecting the hearing of the user.

In some embodiments, the in-ear earphone <NUM> is configured as a wireless earphone, and/or the headphone <NUM> is configured as a wireless earphone. In this embodiment, the in-ear earphone <NUM> is the wireless earphone. The in-ear earphone <NUM> may be connected to an electronic terminal device through a wireless connection manner such as Bluetooth and WiFi, and may receive signals transmitted by the electronic terminal device. The headphone <NUM> may be the wired earphone or the wireless earphone. The working principle of the headphone <NUM> configured as the wireless earphone is the same with the working principle of the earphone <NUM>, and will not be repeated herein.

In summary, the present disclosure includes the following advantages: <NUM>. through the multi-stage superposed active noise cancellation, the problem of insufficient noise cancellation is solved, and the noise-cancellation effect is greatly improved; <NUM>. the problem of the internal stuffiness caused by the sealing of the multi-stage noise-cancellation earphone assembly is solved by the active air supply; <NUM>. the problem of the hair being crushed by the headphone is solved by adopting a three-dimensional contact support manner, and the hairstyle will not be ruined; <NUM>. the combination of the headphone <NUM> and the in-ear earphone <NUM> ensures a long battery life of the in-ear headset <NUM>, which solves the problem of the battery life of the in-ear headset <NUM>.

It can be understood that in the present disclosure, "a plurality" refers to two or more than two, and other quantifiers are of the similar meaning to it. The wording "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there may be three relationships. For example, A/or B may indicate three cases: only A exists, A and B exist at the same time, and only B exists. The character "/" generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. The singular forms "a", "said" and "the" are also intended to include plural forms unless otherwise other meanings are explicitly indicated in the context.

It should be further understood that the terms "first", "second", etc. may be used to describe various types of information, but such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish the same type of information from each other, and do not indicate a specific order or a degree of importance. In fact, expressions such as "first" and "second" can be used interchangeably. For example, first information may also be referred to as second information without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Similarly, the second information may also be referred to as the first information.

It should be further understood that, orientations or positional relationships indicated by terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "front", "rear", "up', "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and they are used only for describing the present disclosure and for description simplicity, but do not indicate or imply that an indicated apparatus or element must have a specific orientation or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation.

It can be further understood that, unless otherwise specified, "connection" includes a direct connection between two components without other components therebetween, and also includes an indirect connection between two components with other components therebetween.

It can be further understood that although the operations in the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in a specific order in the drawings, they should not be understood as requiring these operations to be performed in the specific order shown or requiring all the operations shown to be performed in order to obtain the desired result.

Claim 1:
A headphone (<NUM>), configured to be used in combination with an in-ear earphone (<NUM>), comprising:
an earmuff (<NUM>) configured to be fitted over an auricle (<NUM>);
an earmuff pickup (<NUM>) disposed on an outer side of the earmuff (<NUM>) and configured to collect an environmental sound; and
a first speaker (<NUM>) disposed on an inner side of the earmuff (<NUM>) and configured to perform at least one of following actions: playing a noise-cancellation sound corresponding to the environmental sound collected by the earmuff pickup (<NUM>), or playing an audio,
wherein when the headphone (<NUM>) is in use, the inner side of the earmuff (<NUM>) and the auricle (<NUM>) define an accommodating space for accommodating a part of the in-ear earphone (<NUM>) exposed out of an external auditory canal,
wherein the headphone (<NUM>) further comprises:
a skeleton (<NUM>), two ends of the skeleton (<NUM>) being each connected to one earmuff (<NUM>); and
a support body (<NUM>) disposed on a side of the skeleton (<NUM>) facing a user's head when the headphone is worn, and configured for preventing the skeleton (<NUM>) from coming into contact with the head,
wherein the support body (<NUM>) comprises a plurality of support pillars, and the plurality of support pillars are distributed on the skeleton (<NUM>) at intervals in an array,
the plurality of support pillars are arranged in columns and rows on the side of the skeleton (<NUM>) facing the user's head when the headphone is worn, the support pillars in two adjacent columns are staggered in a longitudinal direction, and the support pillars in two adjacent rows are staggered in a transverse direction,
one end of each support pillar is arranged on the side of the skeleton (<NUM>) facing the user's head when the headphone is worn, and the other end of the support pillar is provided with an arc-shaped ball.