PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9723396-B2
Application Number: US-201615192084-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Earphone assemblies with magnets for anchoring to a user

Abstract:
Earphone assemblies with magnets are provided to anchor the assemblies to a user during use.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An earphone assembly for use by a user&#39;s ear, the earphone assembly comprising:
 a hook member comprising a functional component; 
 a body; 
 an audio output component positioned at least partially within the body; 
 a first magnet physically coupled to the body; and 
 a second magnet, wherein, when the body is positioned against the user&#39;s ear in a functional position that is operative to direct sound from the audio output component into the user&#39;s ear, the first magnet and the second magnet are operative to be positioned on opposite sides of a wall of the ear and are operative to be magnetically attracted to one another via the wall for holding the body in the functional position, and wherein:
 a first end of the hook member is physically coupled to the body; 
 a second end of the hook member is a free end; 
 the second magnet is coupled to the hook member adjacent the second end of the hook member; and 
 the functional component comprises at least one of the following:
 an antenna functionally coupled to the audio output component; and 
 a battery functionally coupled to the audio output component. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The earphone assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one comprises the antenna functionally coupled to the audio output component. 
     
     
       3. The earphone assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one comprises the battery functionally coupled to the audio component. 
     
     
       4. The earphone assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the at least one further comprises the antenna functionally coupled to the audio output component. 
     
     
       5. The earphone assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the free end of the hook member is operative to move in at least one direction of freedom with respect to the first end of the hook member. 
     
     
       6. The earphone assembly of  claim 1 , wherein, when the body is positioned in the functional position, a portion of the hook member extends up over a helix of the ear. 
     
     
       7. The earphone assembly of  claim 1 , wherein, when the body is positioned in the functional position, a portion of the hook member extends down under a lobe of the ear. 
     
     
       8. The earphone assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a third magnet physically coupled to the body; and 
 a fourth magnet, wherein, when the body is positioned in the functional position, the third magnet and the fourth magnet are operative to be positioned on opposite sides of another wall of the ear and are operative to be magnetically attracted to one another via the other wall for holding the body in the functional position. 
 
     
     
       9. The earphone assembly of  claim 8 , further comprising another hook member, wherein:
 a first end of the other hook member is physically coupled to the body; 
 a second end of the other hook member is a free end; and 
 the fourth magnet is coupled to the other hook member adjacent the second end of the other hook member. 
 
     
     
       10. The earphone assembly of  claim 9 , wherein:
 when the body is positioned in the functional position, a portion of the hook member extends up over a helix of the ear; and 
 when the body is positioned in the functional position, a portion of the other hook member extends down under a lobe of the ear. 
 
     
     
       11. The earphone assembly of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the other hook member comprises another functional component; 
 the other functional component comprises an antenna functionally coupled to the audio output component. 
 
     
     
       12. The earphone assembly of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the other hook member comprises another functional component; 
 the other functional component comprises a battery functionally coupled to the audio component. 
 
     
     
       13. An earphone assembly for use by a user&#39;s ear, the earphone assembly comprising:
 a body; 
 an audio output component positioned at least partially within the body; 
 a hook member comprising:
 a first end physically coupled to the body; 
 a second end that is a free end; and 
 a hook member part extending between the first end and the second end; 
 
 a first magnet physically coupled to the body; 
 a second magnet provided at a first position along a length of the hook member part; and 
 a third magnet provided at a second position along the length of the hook member part, wherein:
 when the body is positioned against the user&#39;s ear in a functional position that is operative to direct sound from the audio output component into the user&#39;s ear, the first magnet and the second magnet are operative to be positioned on opposite sides of a first portion of a wall of the ear and are operative to be magnetically attracted to one another via the first portion of the wall for holding the body in the functional position, and 
 when the body is positioned against the user&#39;s ear in another functional position that is operative to direct sound from the audio output component into the user&#39;s ear, the first magnet and the third magnet are operative to be positioned on opposite sides of a second portion of the wall of the ear and are operative to be magnetically attracted to one another via the second portion of the wall for holding the body in the other functional position. 
 
 
     
     
       14. The earphone assembly of  claim 13 , wherein, when the body is positioned in the functional position, a portion of the hook member part extends up over a helix of the ear. 
     
     
       15. The earphone assembly of  claim 13 , wherein, when the body is positioned in the functional position, a portion of the hook member part extends down under a lobe of the ear. 
     
     
       16. An earphone assembly for use by a user&#39;s ear, the earphone assembly comprising:
 a body, 
 an audio output component comprising a first magnet positioned at least partially within the body; 
 a second magnet, wherein, when the body is positioned against the user&#39;s ear in a functional position that is operative to direct sound from the audio output component into the user&#39;s ear, the first magnet and the second magnet are operative to be positioned on opposite sides of a wall of the ear and are operative to be magnetically attracted to one another via the wall for holding the body in the functional position; and 
 a hook member, 
 wherein, a first end of the hook member is physically coupled to the body;
 a second end of the hook member is a free end; and 
 the second magnet is coupled to the hook member adjacent the second end of the hook member. 
 
 
     
     
       17. The earphone assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the first magnet comprises a permanent magnet of the audio output component. 
     
     
       18. The earphone assembly of  claim 17 , wherein a coil of the audio output component is operative to move between poles of the permanent magnet to direct the sound from the audio output component into the user&#39;s ear. 
     
     
       19. The earphone assembly of  claim 16 , wherein the free end of the hook member is operative to move in at least one direction of freedom with respect to the first end of the hook member.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
     This application claims the benefit of prior filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/186,190, filed Jun. 29, 2015, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This can relate to earphone assemblies and, more particularly, to earphone assemblies with magnets for anchoring to a user. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Earphone assemblies are often worn by users that are exercising or performing other activities. However, such active use often dislodges an earphone assembly from its functional position with respect to a user&#39;s ear. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Earphone assemblies with magnets are provided for anchoring to a user during use. 
     As an example, an earphone assembly for use by a user&#39;s ear may be provided that may include a hook member including a functional component, a body, an audio output component positioned at least partially within the body, a first magnet physically coupled to the body, and a second magnet, wherein, when the body is positioned against the user&#39;s ear in a functional position that is operative to direct sound from the audio output component into the user&#39;s ear, the first magnet and the second magnet are operative to be positioned on opposite sides of a wall of the ear and are operative to be magnetically attracted to one another via the wall for holding the body in the functional position, and wherein a first end of the hook member is physically coupled to the body, a second end of the hook member is a free end, the second magnet is coupled to the hook member adjacent the second end of the hook member, and the functional component includes at least one of an antenna functionally coupled to the audio output component and a battery functionally coupled to the audio component. 
     As another example, an earphone assembly for use by a user&#39;s ear may be provided that may include a body, an audio output component positioned at least partially within the body, a hook member including a first end physically coupled to the body, a second end that is a free end, and a hook member part extending between the first end and the second end, a first magnet physically coupled to the body, a second magnet provided at a first position along the length of the hook member part, and a third magnet provided at a second position along the length of the hook member part, wherein, when the body is positioned against the user&#39;s ear in a functional position that is operative to direct sound from the audio output component into the user&#39;s ear, the first magnet and the second magnet are operative to be positioned on opposite sides of a first portion of a wall of the ear and are operative to be magnetically attracted to one another via the first portion of the wall for holding the body in the functional position, and, when the body is positioned against the user&#39;s ear in another functional position that is operative to direct sound from the audio output component into the user&#39;s ear, the first magnet and the third magnet are operative to be positioned on opposite sides of a second portion of the wall of the ear and are operative to be magnetically attracted to one another via the second portion of the wall for holding the body in the other functional position. 
     As yet another example, an earphone assembly for use by a user&#39;s ear may be provided that may include a body, an audio output component including a first magnet positioned at least partially within the body and a second magnet, wherein, when the body is positioned against the user&#39;s ear in a functional position that is operative to direct sound from the audio output component into the user&#39;s ear, the first magnet and the second magnet are operative to be positioned on opposite sides of a wall of the ear and are operative to be magnetically attracted to one another via the wall for holding the body in the functional position. 
     This Summary is provided only to summarize some example embodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the features described in this Summary are only examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Unless otherwise stated, features described in the context of one example may be combined or used with features described in the context of one or more other examples. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The discussion below makes reference to the following drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative earphone assembly; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of the illustrative earphone assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of another illustrative earphone assembly worn by a user; 
         FIG. 3A  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the assembly and user of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 3B  is another cross-sectional view of a portion of the assembly and user of  FIG. 3 ; and 
         FIG. 3C  is another cross-sectional view of a portion of the assembly and user of  FIG. 3 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Earphone assemblies with magnets are provided and described with reference to  FIGS. 1-3C . 
     This disclosure describes a system to improve stability for earphones (e.g., wired or wireless in-ear earphones or for any other suitable type of earphones), particularly for active and sport use cases where the earphones can move and/or become dislodged, either ruining the sound quality or falling out completely from a functional position with respect to a user&#39;s ear. A strong rare earth magnet may be over-molded into or otherwise provided by an ear hook or any other suitable part of an earphone assembly, and a similar magnet may be integrated into an earphone housing (e.g., beneath or on or within an outer surface of a housing (e.g., an earbud housing or other suitable housing that may at least partially contain driver circuitry for the assembly (e.g., a plastic housing))). In such embodiments, the design of the ear hook and housing may be operative to locate the hook near the rear of the concha bowl cavity and/or scapha of the user&#39;s ear (e.g., where thin cartilage and/or thin tissue may exist). Therefore, through use of the magnets, the ear hook may magnetically attach to the housing through the ear tissue that may exist between the hook and housing, thereby anchoring the assembly to the pinna or any other suitable portion of the user&#39;s ear. Multiple magnetic points may be provided to allow for different ear sizes. The assembly may also include a sensor that may be integrated into or otherwise provided by the earphones at a location to be anchored against a user&#39;s ear for improving reliability with skin contact between the ear and such a sensor. 
     Any suitable earphone or headset assembly may be provided with one or more magnetic elements for securing the assembly to a user. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , a cabled headset assembly  100  may include a cable  110  that can electrically couple an audio connector component  120  to a left speaker component  130  and/or a right speaker component  140 . Cable  110  may include a main region  112  that may extend between audio connector component  120  and a bifurcation (e.g., forked region)  114  of cable  110 . Cable  110  may also include a left region  116  that may extend between bifurcation  114  and left speaker component  130 . Alternatively or additionally, cable  110  may include a right region  118  that may extend between bifurcation  114  and right speaker component  140 . Any one or more of cable regions  112 ,  114 ,  116 , and  118  of cable  110  may include one or more conductors that may be configured to transmit data and/or power signals between audio connector component  120  and one or both of left speaker component  130  and right speaker component  140 . Cabled headset assembly  100  may be configured to communicate any suitable data signals, such as audio signals, video signals, control signals, and the like with a media device. Connector component  120  may be operative to be physically coupled to any suitable connector of any suitable media device (not shown) for enabling communication between assembly  100  and such a media device. Alternatively, assembly  100  may not include a connector component  120  but may be operative to wirelessly communicate with such a media device. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , and as described in more detail below, assembly  100  may include a processor component  152 , a memory component  153 , a communications component  154 . a sensor component  155 , an input/output (“I/O”) component  156 , a power supply component  157 , and/or a bus  158  that may provide one or more wired or wireless communication links or paths for transferring data and/or power to, from, or between various other components of assembly  100 . I/O component  156  may include at least one input component (e.g., button, mouse, keyboard) to receive information from a user and/or at least one output component (e.g., audio speaker, video display, haptic component) to provide information to a user, such as a touch screen that may receive input information through a user&#39;s touch of a display screen and that may also provide visual information to a user via that same display screen. Memory  153  may include one or more storage mediums, including for example, a hard-drive, flash memory, permanent memory such as read-only memory (“ROM”), semi-permanent memory such as random access memory (“RAM”), any other suitable type of storage component, or any combination thereof. Communications component  154  may be provided to allow assembly  100  to communicate with one or more other devices (e.g., a media device) using any suitable communications protocol. Communications component  154  can be operative to create or connect to a communications network. Communications component  154  can provide wireless communications using any suitable short-range or long-range communications protocol, such as Wi-Fi (e.g., a 802.11 protocol), Bluetooth, radio frequency systems (e.g., 1200 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5.6 GHz communication systems), infrared, protocols used by wireless and cellular telephones and personal e-mail devices, or any other protocol supporting wireless communications. Communications component  154  can also be operative to connect to a wired communications network or directly to another data source wirelessly or via one or more wired connections (e.g., using any suitable software, firmware, and/or hardware components (e.g., one or more antennas)). Sensor  155  may be any suitable sensor that may be configured to sense any suitable data for assembly  100 , such as a biometric sensor (e.g., a heart rate monitor (e.g., photoplethysmogram (“PPG”) sensors, electrocardiography (“ECG”) sensors, etc.), a light sensor, audio sensor, camera, a global positioning system (“GPS”) sensor, and the like. Power supply  157  can include any suitable circuitry for receiving and/or generating power, and for providing such power to one or more of the other components of assembly  100 . Processor  152  may be used to run one or more applications, such as an application  159  that may be accessible from memory  153  and/or any other suitable source (e.g., from a media device via a wired or wireless connection). Application  159  may include, but is not limited to, one or more operating system applications, firmware applications, communication applications, internet browsing applications, or any other suitable applications. For example, processor  152  may load an application  159  as a user interface program to determine how instructions or data received via an input component of I/O component  156  or other component of assembly  100  may manipulate the way in which information may be stored and/or provided to the user via an output component of I/O component  156 . Assembly  100  may also be provided with a housing  151  that may at least partially enclose one or more of the components of assembly  100  for protection from debris and other degrading forces external to assembly  100 . Each component of assembly  100  may be included in the same housing  151  (e.g., as a single unitary device, such as a single earphone) and/or different components may be provided in different housings (e.g., a first housing may include one of each component of  FIG. 2  to provide a left earphone for a left ear of a user and a second housing may include at least some of the components of  FIG. 2  to provide a right earphone for a right ear of the user). In some embodiments, assembly  100  may include other components not combined or included in those shown or several instances of the components shown. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , an earphone assembly  200  may be worn by an ear  300  of a user. For example, assembly  200  may be similar to assembly  100  and/or may include one, some, or all of the components of assembly  100 . As shown, assembly  200  may include an earbud housing or body  250  that may include a housing that may at least partially enclose one or more suitable components of assembly  200 , such as an audio driver output component, a power supply, a communications component, a sensor, and/or the like (e.g., one or more components similar to one or more components of assembly  100  of  FIG. 2 ). Moreover, as shown, earbud body  250  may include at least one magnet, such as a bud magnet  252  and/or a bud magnet  252 ′ that may respectively be magnetically coupled to an ear hook magnet  282  and/or an ear hook magnet  282 ′, respectively. Body  250  may be coupled to an ear tip  240  that may be operative to be fitted at least partially within an ear canal  322  of ear  300  for directing sound from a driver of assembly  200  (e.g., a driver at least partially provided within body  250  and/or within ear tip  240 ) into canal  322 . In some embodiments, assembly  300  may provide a non-occluding earphone or an earphone that is not configured to be at least partially inserted into the ear canal of the user but that may fit directly in the outer ear and face the ear canal. Alternatively, assembly  300  may provide an occluding earphone or an earphone that is configured to be at least partially inserted into the ear canal of the user (e.g., an in-ear headphone or in-ear monitor or canalphone). At least a portion of assembly  200 , such as at least a portion of body  250 , may be at least partially positioned within a concha  316  (e.g., a hollow portion adjacent ear canal  322 ) or any other suitable portion of ear  300  (e.g., the scapha) that may support body  250 . In other embodiments, body  250  may be positioned outside of but adjacent to concha  316  (e.g., as an ear cup that may surround at least a portion of concha  316  for directing sound through concha  316  and into canal  322 ). 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , assembly  300  may include an ear hook member  280  or arm or extension member that may be physically coupled to and that may extend away from body  250 . Hook member  280  may have a free end  281  that may be positioned behind ear  300  (e.g., behind pinna  312 ) when a portion of member  280  is directed away from body  250  up and over helix  311  of ear  300 . Member  280  may be made of any suitable material, such as plastic, rubber, glass, and/or the like, that may include at least a flexible coupling with body  250  (e.g., at a body end opposite free end  281 ) and/or that may be flexible along at least a portion of the length of member  280  for enabling member  280  to be flexible, deformable, and/or reconfigurable so as to be positioned comfortably and/or easily with respect to ear  300  as shown in  FIG. 3 . At least one magnet  282  may be provided in and/or on member  280  for aligning with at least one magnet  252  of body  250 , such that magnet  282  and magnet  252  may attract one another for holding assembly  200  in the position of  FIG. 3  with respect to ear  300  (e.g., a functional position at which sound may be effectively emitted from assembly  200  into ear canal  322  of ear  300 ). As shown in  FIG. 3A , magnets  252  and  282  may be aligned for attracting one another with magnetism (e.g., magnetism MG) through ear tissue  301  of any suitable portion of ear  300 . In some embodiments, in addition to or as an alternative to hook member  280 , another ear hook member  284  may be coupled to and may extend away from body  250 . Hook member  284  may include a free end (e.g., similar to free end  281  of hook member  280 ) that may be positioned behind ear  300  when a portion of member  284  is directed away from body  250  down and under ear lobe  314  of ear  300 . Member  284  may be made of any suitable material, such as plastic, rubber, glass, and/or the like, that may include at least a flexible coupling with body  250  (e.g., at an end of member  284  opposite the free end) and/or that may be flexible along at least a portion of the length of member  284  for enabling member  284  to be flexible, deformable, and/or reconfigurable to be positioned as shown in  FIG. 3 . At least one magnet  282 ′ may be provided in and/or on member  284  for aligning with at least one magnet  252 ′ of body  250 , such that magnet  282 ′ and magnet  252 ′ may attract one another for holding assembly  200  in the position of  FIG. 3  with respect to ear  300 . While magnets  252 / 282  may be shown in  FIG. 3  to cause an attraction along a direction that may be along a path that may be co-linear or substantially collinear with the path of tip  240  away from body  250 , magnets  252 ′/ 282 ′ may be shown in  FIG. 3  to cause an attraction along a direction that may be perpendicular or substantially perpendicular with the path of tip  240  away from body  250  and/or with the path of attraction of magnets  252 / 282 . For example, magnet  282  may be operative to pull magnet  252  sideways against a side inner portion of concha  316 , whereas magnet  282 ′ may be operative to pull magnet  252 ′ downward against a bottom inner portion of concha  316 . 
     Any suitable number of magnets provided on or in body  250  may be attracted to respective magnets provided on or in members extending away from body  250  via any suitable portions of ear  300 , which may be operative to more securely hold assembly  200  in a functional position with respect to ear  300 . Member  280  and/or member  284  may include or otherwise provide or be provided by any other suitable component of assembly  200  besides one or more magnets, such as component  283  of member  280  and/or component  283 ′ of member  284 , where component  283  and/or component  283 ′ may be any suitable component as described with respect to components of assembly  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . For example, component  283 ′ of member  284  may include a conductor for providing a portion of a cable assembly (e.g., a portion of a bus (e.g., a bus similar to bus  158  and/or cable region  112 ,  114 ,  116 , and/or  118  of cable  110  of assembly  100 )). Additionally or alternatively, component  283  of member  280  and/or component  283 ′ of member  284  may include an antenna or a battery or any other suitable component or components of assembly  200 . In some embodiments, at least a portion of a magnet of assembly  200  may be provided by at least a portion of another component of assembly  200  (e.g., any suitable mechanism (e.g., a transducer) of any suitable audio output component  256  (e.g., moving-iron speaker, magnetostatic speaker, magnetostrictive speaker, ribbon speaker, Heil air motion transducer speaker, electromagnetic speaker, and/or the like) of assembly  200  (e.g., an audio driver or speaker that may be at least partially provided within body  250 ) may provide at least a portion of magnet  252  and/or magnet  252 ′ (e.g., a magnet with two poles in between which a coil of wire may be suspended and moved (e.g., via induction) to move a diaphragm to create sound waves)). In some embodiments, member  280  and/or member  284  may be an independent component not physically extending from body  250  but may be a distinct component that may be coupled to body  250  via magnetism between a magnet of body  250  and a magnet of member  280  and/or member  284 . 
     Such attraction between magnets of assembly  200  through a portion of ear  300  may be operative to position at least one sensor of assembly  200  with respect to ear  300  in any suitable manner. For example, a sensor of assembly  200  may operate more reliably if held close to or directly against a portion of ear  300  (e.g., one or more PPG sensors or ECG sensors). For example, as shown in  FIG. 3B , a first assembly part  202  of assembly  200  (e.g., member  284 , member  284 ′, or body  250 ) may include a first magnet  204 , a second magnet  208 , and a sensor  206 , each of which may be at least partially exposed through or provided adjacent to an external surface  202   a  of part  202  that may be operative to lie against a first external surface  301   a  of user body  301  (e.g., ear  300 ). As also shown in  FIG. 3B , a second assembly part  292  of assembly  200  (e.g., member  284 , member  284 ′, or body  250 ) that is different than first assembly part  202  may include a first magnet  294 , a second magnet  298 , and a sensor  296 , each of which may be at least partially exposed through or provided adjacent to an external surface  292   a  of part  292  that may be operative to lie against a second external surface  301   b  of user body  301  (e.g., ear  300 ). When aligned as shown in  FIG. 3B , magnet  204  may be aligned with magnet  294  for generating magnetism M 1  via body  301  for holding assembly part  202  with respect to part  292 , and/or magnet  208  may be aligned with magnet  298  for generating magnetism M 2  via body  301  for holding assembly part  202  with respect to part  292 . The positional relationship of sensor  206  with respect to one or more of magnets  204  and  208  and/or based on the positional relationship of sensor  296  with respect to one or more of magnets  294  and  298  may enable sensor  206  to be held against or proximal to surface  202   a  and/or may enable sensor  296  to be held against or proximal to surface  202   b  and/or may enable sensor  206  and sensor  296  to be held adjacent to one another across body  301  (e.g., for enabling proper functionality of sensor  206  and/or sensor  296 ). Each magnet may have a portion exposed along a surface of an assembly part, or a portion of an assembly part (e.g., an external housing surface) may hide a magnet therebehind while still enabling the functionality of the magnet. Additionally or alternatively, each sensor may have a portion exposed along a surface of an assembly part, or a portion of an assembly part (e.g., an external housing surface) may hide a sensor therebehind while still enabling the functionality of the sensor. 
     Attraction between magnets of assembly  200  through a portion of ear  300  may be operative to more comfortably position different portions of assembly  200  with respect to ear  300 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 3C , a first assembly part  202 ′ of assembly  200  (e.g., member  284 , member  284 ′, or body  250 ) may include a first magnet  204   a , a second magnet  204   b , and a third magnet  204   c , each of which may be at least partially exposed through or provided adjacent to an external surface  202   a  of part  202 ′ that may be operative to lie against a first external surface  301   a  of user body  301  (e.g., ear  300 ). As also shown in  FIG. 3C , a second assembly part  292 ′ of assembly  200  (e.g., member  284 , member  284 ′, or body  250 ) that is different than first assembly part  202 ′ may include a first magnet  294   a , which may be at least partially exposed through or provided adjacent to an external surface  292   a  of part  292 ′ that may be operative to lie against a second external surface  301   b  of user body  301  (e.g., ear  300 ). Part  202 ′ may be moved with respect to part  292 ′ such that magnet  294   a  of part  292 ′ may be aligned via body  301  with a particular one of magnets  204   a - 204   c  of part  202 ′ (e.g., magnet  204   b  for generating magnetism M via body  301  for holding assembly part  202 ′ with respect to part  292 ′, as shown in  FIG. 3C ). Which one of magnets  204   a - 204   c  of part  202 ′ is aligned with magnet  294   a  of part  292 ′ may determine how loose or tight assembly  200  may be worn on ear  300  (e.g., based on the size of ear  300 , a different one of magnets  204   a - 204   c  may be aligned with magnet  294   a  for providing a comfortable fit on ear  300 ). In some embodiments, as shown, a sensor  206   b  may be provided at least partially within magnet  204   b  and/or a sensor  296   b  may be provided at least partially within magnet  294   a  for being functionally positioned with respect to ear  300  when magnets  294   a  and  204   b  are functionally aligned with each other via body  301 . Alternatively, as shown, a magnet  294   a′  may be positioned within a sensor  296   b ′. Therefore, a sensor may be positioned within, adjacent, behind, about, or otherwise in any other suitable position with respect to at least one magnet for enabling proper functional positioning of the sensor with respect to ear  300  when the at least one magnet is attracted to another magnet of the assembly. Therefore, a consistent pressure of a sensor on, towards, or against a surface of ear  300  may be maintained by magnetism to enable proper functionality of that sensor. Each magnet may be any suitable material, such as a rare earth magnet (e.g., neodymium magnets and/or samarium-cobalt magnets), any magnetic permeable material (e.g., to form a portion of body  250 , etc.), and/or the like. 
     While there have been described earphone assemblies with magnets for anchoring to a user, it is to be understood that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Insubstantial changes from the claimed subject matter as viewed by a person with ordinary skill in the art, now known or later devised, are expressly contemplated as being equivalently within the scope of the claims. Therefore, obvious substitutions now or later known to one with ordinary skill in the art are defined to be within the scope of the defined elements. 
     Therefore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration rather than of limitation.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20160624
Publication Date: 20170801
Grant Date: 20170801
Priority Date: 20150629
Inventors: QIAN PHILLIP
GRINKER SCOTT C.
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H04R2420/07", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1016", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/105", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2420/07", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1016", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R2420/07", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1041", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/1016", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/105", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04R1/105", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 57601361