Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of the U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/180,492, filed Jun. 16, 2015 and titled, “Bluetooth Wireless Headphone Bracelet,” which is also hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to the field of consumer electronics. More specifically, the present invention relates to wireless headphones. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Typical headphones have loose cables, which cause troubles in carrying and transportation. People generally need to carry a separate case for storing the headphones. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    In some embodiments, the present invention comprises a combination of a bracelet and a Bluetooth wireless headphone. In some embodiments, a Bluetooth headphone is stored inside the bracelet, and the bracelet can be worn on the wrist of the user. In some embodiments, the bracelet is an accessory that the user is able to wear everyday, which is fashionable and fits to the personal style of the user. In some embodiments, a Bluetooth headphone has two small earbuds with high sound quality speakers inside. 
         [0005]    In an aspect, a wireless headphone container comprises a bracelet and a wireless headphone having earbuds and one or more cables configured to fit into an opening of the bracelet. In some embodiments, the opening comprises a first cavity and a second cavity. In other embodiments, the first cavity is at a proximal end of the bracelet and the second cavity is at a distal end of the bracelet. In some other embodiments, the bracelet comprises a channel connecting the first cavity and the second cavity. In some embodiments, the channel is configured to have a size for storing a cable. In other embodiments, the first cavity has a shape matches a shape of a control unit of the headphone. In some other embodiments, the second cavity has a shape structured to store the earbuds. 
         [0006]    In another aspect, a wearable electronic device comprises a container wearable on a wrist and an audio unit configured to be stored in the container. In some embodiments, the audio unit comprises a headphone. In other embodiments, the headphone comprises a Bluetooth headphone. In some other embodiments, the audio unit is stored inside the container, such that the audio unit is invisible when stored. In some embodiments, the container comprises a bracelet. In some other embodiments, the container comprises a first cavity having a shape for storing a control unit. In some other embodiments, the container comprises a second cavity having a shape for storing two earbuds. In some embodiments, the container comprises a body in a loop structure. In some other embodiments, the loop structure is able to be pulled to open. In some other embodiments, the loop structure comprises two ends form an overlapping section at a close state. 
         [0007]    In another aspect, a method of making a wearable headphone comprises forming a container wearable on a wrist, forming a headphone, and storing the headphone in the container. In some embodiments, the method further comprises forming at least two cavities and a slit on the container. In other embodiments, the one of the at least two cavities has a shape for storing a control unit. In some other embodiments, the other of the at least two cavities has a shape for storing earbuds. In some embodiments, the slit has a shape for storing an audio cable. 
         [0008]    Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after reviewing the detailed description of the embodiments set forth below. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    Embodiments will now be described by way of examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings which are meant to be exemplary and not limiting. For all figures mentioned herein, like numbered elements refer to like elements throughout. 
           [0010]    Figures attached illustrate a construction and a use of the bracelet and the Bluetooth wireless headphone in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a wearable electronic accessory device in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  illustrates several views of the wearable electronic accessory device in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  illustrates constructions of the device in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  illustrates a control unit in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  illustrates a cross sectional view of a headphone storage inside a body of a cuff in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0016]      FIG. 6  illustrates a method of using the wearable electronic accessory device in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
           [0017]      FIG. 7  illustrates a method of making a wireless headphone bracelet in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0018]    Reference is made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention is described in conjunction with the embodiments below, it is understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments and examples. On the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which can be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to more fully illustrate the present invention. However, it is apparent to one of ordinary skill in the prior art having the benefit of this disclosure that the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods and procedures, components and processes have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention. It is, of course, appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer&#39;s specific goals, such as compliance with application and business related constraints, and that these specific goals vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it is appreciated that such a development effort can be complex and time-consuming, but is nevertheless a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  illustrates a perspective view of a wearable electronic accessory device  100  in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, the device  100  comprises a body  102  having a first side  104 , a second side  106 , and a connecting unit  108  connecting the first side  104  and the second side  106 . Each of the first side  104  and the second side  106  contains a container. The container of the first side  104  is configured to have a structure to contain one or more earbuds. In some embodiments, the container of the first side  104  contains one or more cavities having a shape that is able to be snug-fit and immobilize the earbuds, so that the earbuds are retained and do not fall out when the cavities are facing toward the force of gravity. A cover  104 A covers the cavities of the container at the first side  104 . The cover  104 A is able to be an earbuds housing cover. In some embodiments, the container of the second side  106  comprises a control unit  106 A. 
         [0020]    The device  100  comprises an elastic body  102 , which can be pulled to open as in a wearing open state  110 . In some embodiments, the elastic body  102  has a spring like function, allowing the elastic body  102  to spring back to a closed wearing state  112 . In some embodiments, one or more magnets or materials that attract to a magnetic force are on the two sides  103 A and  103 B of the body to keep a loop shape of the body  102 . 
         [0021]    In some embodiments, the device  100  comprises a headphone including the earbuds, a cable, and the control unit 106 A. The headphone is able to be a Bluetooth headphone. 
         [0022]    In some embodiments, the device is formed as a bracelet having the body  102  in a loop structure. Two housing spaces  104 B and  106 B on the loop, one for storing the earbuds at the first side  104  and the other one for storing the control unit of the headphone at the second side  106 . A slit  108 A at the middle of the bracelet at the connecting unit  108  to store the cable of the headphone. 
         [0023]    In some embodiments, electronic chips and batteries are embedded inside the loop structure of the body  102 . The electronic chips are able to be used to track location, monitor movement, perform a Bluetooth connection, store music and data, and other functions by using GPS, memory storage unit, CPU, and other electronic hardware. 
         [0024]    In some embodiments, the loop structure of the body  102  is able to have different designs. A person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that various appearances, shapes, colors, and materials can be used. For example, the body  102  can be made of materials such as rubber, metal, aluminum, gold, leather, and plastic. The device  100  is able to have various colors such as silver, black, red, blue, pink, and gold. The device  100  is able to have various shapes and designs such as, round, flat, thin, slim, rectangular, and other shapes. Similarly, the two housing spaces  104 B and  106 B for storing the earbuds and the control unit are able to be made using the above mentioned materials and made into a shape and color as mentioned above. 
         [0025]    In some embodiments, the two housing spaces  104 B and  106 B are located at the top of the loop. In other embodiments, one or both of the two housing spaces  104 B and  106 B are located at different positions of the loop, for example, the bottom, the left side, or the right side. 
         [0026]    In some embodiments, the housing cover  104 A covers the housing space  104 B for storing the earbuds. The housing cover  104 A functions as a gate to store the earbuds inside the bracelet. The earbuds housing cover is able to be made into different designs, appearances, shapes, colors, and materials. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2  illustrates several views of the wearable electronic accessory device  100  in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Item  114  shows a top view of the device  100 , which shows that the two ends of the device  100  are coupled to each other and immobilized by its material property. Alternatively, the two ends of the device  100  are coupled to each other and immobilized by using a magnetic force. Item  116  shows a bottom view of the device  100 . Item  118  shows a right side view of the device  100 . The sections  118 A and  120 A comprise a thinness section or a reduced thickness of the loop to enhance the comfort to the user when wearing the device  100 . In some embodiments, the sections  118 A and  120 A are substantially flat on a plane  118 B and  120 B such that the user is able to rest his/her wrist against a surface. Item  118  shows a right side view of the device  100 . Item  120  shows a left side view of the device  100 . Item  122  shows a front view of the device  100 . 
         [0028]      FIG. 3  illustrates constructions  300  of the device  100  in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. Item  302  shows that a headphone  304  couples with a cuff  314 , which is the same or similar construction of the body  102  in  FIG. 1 . The headphone  304  comprises a control unit  308  and one or more earbuds  306 , which are coupled/connected via a cable  310 . When the headphone  304  is stored in the cuff  314 , two apertures  306 A and  308 A serve as housings for the earbuds  306  and the control unit  308 , which are configured to be snug-fit inside the apertures  306 A and  308 A. The cable  310  is stored inside the slit  312 . In some embodiments, the cable  310  is completely inside the slit  312 , so that the cable  310  is invisible from outside. In some embodiments, the cable  310  comprises two parallel cables, which has one for a left channel volume and the other is for a right channel volume. A cover  308 E conceals and covers the aperture  308 A, which can be made of metal or metallic color. The cover  308 E can comprise a bolt structure to be clipped on a hole on the cuff  314 . 
         [0029]    In some embodiments, two cables  310 A are extending out from a same side of the control unit  308 . In some other embodiments, two cables  310 B are extending out from opposite sides of the control unit  308 , such that the earbuds  306 C are extending out at different directions, which can serve as a cable tangling prevention structure. A person of ordinary skilled in the art would appreciate that the cables  310  can be manufactured to come out of the control unit  308  in various directions. 
         [0030]    In some embodiments, the headphone  304 , which can be a Bluetooth headphone, has one control unit  308  and two earbuds  306 . The two earbuds  306  are connected to the control unit  308  by two cables  310 . The control unit  308  has electronic chips and batteries inside, such that the headphone  304  wirelessly connects to a music source device (such as a iPhone or a MP3 player) via Bluetooth. A person of ordinary skilled in the art would appreciate that the headphone  304  is able to connect with a music source device wirelessly or via another cable. In some embodiments, the headphone  304  is able to have different structures and be made of different materials. A person of ordinary skilled in the art would appreciate that various appearances, shapes, colors, and materials can be used. For example, the headphone  304  can be made of materials such as rubber, metal, aluminum, gold, leather, and plastic. The headphone  304  is able to have various colors such as silver, black, red, blue, pink, and gold. The headphone  304  is able to have various shapes and designs such as, round, flat, thin, slim, rectangular, and other shapes. 
         [0031]    In some embodiments, the control unit  308  comprises one or more buttons. In some embodiments, a button  308 B is used to turn on/off the power and/or the volume of the headphone  304 . In some embodiments, the same button  308 B is used to accept/reject phone call and pause/play music. In some embodiments, a button  308 C is used to increase the volume. In some embodiments, the same button  308 C is used to fast forward to the next song. Similarly, a button  308 D is used to decrease the volume. In some embodiments, the same button  308 D is used to fast rewind to the beginning of the current song and/or the previous song. 
         [0032]    In some embodiments, each of the earbuds  306  has a speaker unit inside. In some embodiments, the earbuds  306  are able to have different structures and materials. A person of ordinary skilled in the art would appreciate that various appearances, shapes, colors, and materials can be used. For example, the earbuds  306  can be made of materials such as rubber, metal, aluminum, gold, leather, and plastic. The earbuds  306  are able to have various colors such as silver, black, red, blue, pink, and gold. The earbuds  306  are able to have various shapes and designs such as, round, flat, thin, slim, rectangular, and other shapes. 
         [0033]      FIG. 4  illustrates a control unit  400  in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, the control unit  400  comprises a set of volume buttons  404  and  406  for volume control, a power control  408 , and a biometrics identification device  410  such as a fingerprint scanner. 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  illustrates a cross sectional view of a headphone storage  500  inside a body of a cuff in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. In some embodiments, the headphone  501  comprises a control unit  502  and earbuds  510  connected to the control unit  502  via a cable  504 . The body of the cuff  503  comprises a first space  506  for storing the control unit  503 , a second space  512  for storing the earbuds  510 , and a channel  508  for storing the cable  504 . 
         [0035]      FIG. 6  illustrates a method  600  for using the wearable electronic accessory device  100  in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. A headphone  601  is able to be stored in the cuff  606  to be worn on a wrist  603 . Similar to the device  100  ( FIGS. 1 and 2 ) described above, the headphone  601  comprises a control unit  604 A, a cable  604 , and the earbuds  604 B. The cable  604  has a length  602  long enough to hang under the chin and short enough to be stored in the cuff  606  (e.g., a bracelet). The control unit  604 A can be stored in the first end  606 A and the earbuds  604 B can be stored in the second end  606 B. In some embodiments, the length  602  is between 10 cm and 20 cm. In some embodiments, the length  602  is between 15 cm and 30 cm. 
         [0036]      FIG. 7  illustrates a method  700  of making a wireless headphone bracelet in accordance with some embodiments of the present invention. The method starts at a Step  702 . At a Step  704 , a bracelet is formed with one or more cavities having a shape configured to store a headphone. In some embodiments, the headphone comprises a wireless headphone. The headphone is able to contain a control unit, earbuds, and a cable connecting the control unit and the earbuds. The forming of the bracelet is able to be done by molding, CNC cutting and drilling, and other typical manufacturing methods and devices to make the bracelet. One or more covers for the cavities are formed. The cover is able to contain a ball joint structure to clip on a socket structure on or around the cavities, such that the cover is able to be fixed on the bracelet. 
         [0037]    At a Step  706 , a headphone is formed. In some embodiments, the headphone is structured to have a cable length long enough to be wore from one side of the ear under the chin to the other side of the ear and short enough to be stored inside the bracelet. In some embodiments, the length of the cable does not form a repeating loop when the headphone is stored inside the bracelet. 
         [0038]    At a Step  708 , the headphone is stored in the bracelet. In some embodiments, the control unit of the headphone is stored in a proximal side of the one of the cavities of the bracelet and the earbuds are stored at a distal side of the cavities of the bracelet. In some embodiments, the cavities for storing the earbuds are connected and form a number eight shape, such that each of the earbuds is able to be separately stored together. The method is able to stop at a Step  710 . 
         [0039]    In utilization, the bracelet, cuff, or a wrist wearable is able to be used as a container for the wireless headphone. 
         [0040]    In operation, the headphone is placed into the bracelet, the control unit is placed in the associated housing space of the loop structure, the cables are placed into the channel and wrap around the bracelet, the earbuds are placed into the associated housing space on the loop structure of the bracelet, and the earbuds housing cover is closed. 
         [0041]    In use, the earbuds housing cover is opened, the earbuds are taken out of the loop structure of the bracelet and the cables are taken out from the channel and unwrap around the bracelet, and the control unit is taken out of the loop structure of the bracelet. 
         [0042]    The present invention has been described in terms of specific embodiments incorporating details to facilitate the understanding of principles of construction and operation of the invention. 
         [0043]    Such reference herein to specific embodiments and details thereof is not intended to limit the scope of the claims appended hereto. It is readily apparent to one skilled in the art that other various modifications can be made in the embodiment chosen for illustration without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Technology Category: 5