Modular Earphone

Abstract

A modular earphone segment and method of manufacturing, the modular earphone segment housing an acoustic waveguide therein, the acoustic waveguide comprising between an inner end and an outer end a series of acoustic horns intercalated between a series of transition regions and the modular earphone segment comprising an acoustic seal module, a body module and an acoustic transmission module, the acoustic seal module being configured to be connected to the body module by releasably coupling means and the body module being configured to be connected to the acoustic transmission module by connecting means such that, when connected, the acoustic seal module, the body module and the acoustic transmission module are acoustically coupled.

Claims

1. A modular earphone segment (100) housing an acoustic waveguide (200) therein, the acoustic waveguide (200) having an inner end (211) and an outer end (221), at least the inner end (211) being open, the modular earphone segment (100) comprising: an acoustic seal module (110) housing therein a first section (210) and the inner end (211) of the acoustic waveguide (200) a body module (120) housing therein a second section (220) and the outer end (221) of the acoustic waveguide (200), and an acoustic transmission module (130), wherein the acoustic seal module (110) is configured to be connected to the body module (120) by releasably coupling means (112, 222, 224) and the body module (120) is configured to be connected to the acoustic transmission module (130) by connecting means (132, 134) such that, when connected, the first section (210) of the acoustic waveguide (200) is substantially continuous with the second section (220) of the acoustic waveguide (200) and the acoustic seal module (110), the body module (120) and the acoustic transmission module (130) are acoustically coupled and wherein the acoustic waveguide (200) comprises between the inner end (211) and the outer end (221) a series of acoustic horns (212, 214a, 222b, 224) intercalated between a series of transition regions (213, 223) such that a first acoustic horn (212) of the series of acoustic horns is housed near the inner end (211) of the acoustic waveguide (200) and a last acoustic horn (224) of the series of acoustic horns is housed near the outer end (221) of the acoustic waveguide (200).

2. The modular earphone segment of claim 1, wherein the acoustic transmission module (130) comprises an acoustic transducer seating for partially or completely housing an acoustic transducer and acoustic transmission means.

3. The modular earphone segment of claim 2, wherein the acoustic transmission means comprise means for coupling acoustic waves and/or means for coupling acoustic vibrations from the acoustic transducer into an ear.

4. The modular earphone segment of claim 3, wherein the means for coupling acoustic waves from the acoustic transducer into the ear comprise coupling by means of the acoustic waveguide (200).

5. The modular earphone segment of any one of claims 3 to 4, wherein the means for coupling acoustic vibrations comprise forming the acoustic transmission module (130) of a combination of materials having different hardness at different sections of the acoustic transmission module (130).

6. The modular earphone segment of any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the means for coupling acoustic vibrations comprise any one of or a combination of any one of protruding projections (132), prongs (134), lobes, rods and cages.

7. The modular earphone segment of any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the means for coupling acoustic vibrations from the acoustic transducer into the ear comprise transmitting the coupled acoustic vibrations into the anti-helix and/or the concha of the ear and/or the entry into the ear canal.

8. The modular earphone segment of claim 7, wherein the transmitting of the coupled acoustic vibrations comprises transmission through the bone, cartilage and nerves of the ear.

9. The modular earphone segment of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the connecting means (132, 134) connecting the body module (120) to the acoustic transmission module (130) are configured to be attached, 3D printed, moulded, co-moulded or over-moulded to the acoustic transmission module (130)

10. The modular earphone segment of claim 9, wherein the acoustic transmission module (130) is configured to be attached, moulded, 3D printed, co-moulded or over-moulded to the body module (120) by means of the attached, 3D printed, moulded, co-moulded or over-moulded connecting means (132, 134).

11. The modular earphone segment of any one of claims 3 to 10, wherein the connecting means (132, 134) comprise the means for coupling acoustic vibrations.

12. The modular earphone segment of any one of the preceding claims, wherein some or all of the acoustic horns of the series of acoustic horns have any one of or a combination of any one of conical, spherical wave, spheroidal waveguide, radial, hyperbolic, parabolic, reversed flare, oblate, oblate spheroidal waveguide, exponential, exponential quadratic, pipe, parabolic, multicellular, reversed flare, Le Cleac'h, Manta-Ray, Western Electric, Wilson modified exponential and Iwata horn shapes.

13. The modular earphone segment of claim 12, wherein some or all of the transition regions of the series of intercalated transition regions are configured to have transition shapes acoustically matched to the shapes of adjoining horns.

14. The modular earphone segment of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first acoustic (212) horn is configured to flare out towards the inner end (211) of the acoustic waveguide (200) to sculpt and couple acoustic waves into the canal of an ear.

15. The modular earphone segment of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the last acoustic horn (224) is configured to flare out towards the outer end (221) of the acoustic waveguide (200) to couple acoustic waves from the acoustic transmission module (130) into the acoustic waveguide (200).

16. The modular earphone segment of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the acoustic waveguide (200) includes a series of bends between the inner end (211) and the outer end (221).

17. The modular earphone segment of claim 16, wherein the series of intercalated transition regions (213, 223) is located at the series of bends.

18. The modular earphone segment of any one of the preceding claims, wherein either one or both of the first section (210) and the second section (220) of the acoustic waveguide (200) comprise at least one transition region (213, 223) intercalated between a whole acoustic horn and a portion (214a, 222b) of another subsequent acoustic horn in the series of acoustic horns.

19. The modular earphone segment of claim 18, wherein the portion of another subsequent acoustic horn (214a) of the first section (210) of the acoustic waveguide (200) is substantially continuous with the portion of another subsequent acoustic horn (222b) of the second section (220) of the acoustic waveguide (200).

20. The modular earphone segment of any one of claims 1 to 17, wherein either one or both of the first section (210) and the second section (220) of the acoustic waveguide (200) comprise at least one transition region (213, 223) intercalated between two whole acoustic horns in the series of acoustic horns (212, 214a, 222b, 224).

21. The modular earphone segment of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the releasably coupling means (112, 222, 224) connecting the body module (120) to the acoustic seal module (110) comprise cooperating coupling means, such as cooperating pairs of male keying features (222, 224) and female keying features (112).

22. The modular earphone segment of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the acoustic seal module (110) comprises an ear tip located at the inner end (211) of the acoustic seal module (110).

23. The modular earphone segment of claim 22, wherein the ear tip is formed of an elastomeric material, preferably a memory foam.

24. A modular earphone (300) comprising the modular earphone segment (100) of any one of claims 1 to 23 an acoustic transducer (500) and a back case (310) encasing the acoustic transmission module (130) of the modular earphone segment (100) wherein the acoustic transducer (500) is housed completely within the acoustic transducer seating of the acoustic transmission module (130).

25. A modular earphone (300) comprising the modular earphone segment (100) of any one of claims 1 to 23 an acoustic transducer (500) and a back case (310) encasing the acoustic transmission module (130) of the modular earphone segment (100) wherein the acoustic transducer (500) is housed partially within the acoustic transducer seating of the acoustic transmission module (130) and partially within the back case (310).

26. A modular earphone (300) comprising the modular earphone segment (100) of any one of claims 1 to 23 an acoustic transducer (500) and a back case (310) encasing the acoustic transmission module (130) of the modular earphone segment (100) wherein the acoustic transducer (310) is housed completely within the back case (310).

27. A pair of modular earphones (300) comprising a left modular earphone and a right modular earphone, each according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the shape of the acoustic waveguide (200) of the left modular earphone is a mirror image of the shape of the acoustic waveguide (200) of the right modular earphone.

28. A method of manufacturing a modular earphone segment (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 23, the method comprising the steps of providing an acoustic seal module (110), a body module (120) and an acoustic transmission module (130), connecting the acoustic transmission module (130) to the body module (120) by means of connecting means (132, 134), followed by connecting the acoustic seal module (110) to be body module (120) by means of releasably coupling means (112, 222, 224) such that, when connected, the acoustic seal module (110), the body module (120) and the acoustic transmission module (130) are acoustically coupled.

29. A method of manufacturing a modular earphone (300) according to any one of claims 24 to 26, the method comprising the steps of providing a modular earphone segment (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 23, providing an acoustic transducer (500), providing a back case (310) for encasing the acoustic transmission module (130) of the modular earphone segment (100) and connecting the back case (310) to the modular earphone segment (100) such that the acoustic transducer (500) is housed therein.

30. An acoustic transmission module for a modular earphone segment or a modular earphone, the acoustic transmission module comprising an acoustic transducer seating for partially or completely housing an acoustic transducer and acoustic transmission means, wherein the acoustic transmission means comprise means for coupling acoustic waves and/or means for coupling acoustic vibrations from the acoustic transducer to an ear.

31. The acoustic transmission module of claim 30, wherein the means for coupling acoustic vibrations comprise forming the acoustic transmission module of a combination of materials having different hardness at different sections of the acoustic transmission module.

32. The acoustic transmission module of any one of claims 30 to 31, wherein the means for coupling acoustic vibrations comprise any one of or a combination of any one of protruding projections (132), prongs (134), lobes, rods and cages.

33. The acoustic transmission module of any one of claims 30 to 31, wherein the means for coupling acoustic vibrations from the acoustic transducer to the ear comprise transmitting the coupled acoustic vibrations into the anti-helix and/or the concha of the ear.

34. The acoustic transmission module of claim 33, wherein the transmitting of the coupled acoustic vibrations comprise transmission through the bone, cartilage and nerves of the ear.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0123] Various aspects of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:

[0124] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the constituent modules (acoustic seal, body and acoustic transmission module) of the modular earphone segment of the first aspect of the invention;

[0125] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional layout of an embodiment of the modular earphone segment of the first aspect of the invention;

[0126] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional layout of another embodiment of the modular earphone segment of the first aspect of the invention;

[0127] FIG. 4A shows an embodiment of a tip of a prior art acoustic seal module, whereas FIGS. 4B and 4C show embodiments of tips of the acoustic seal module of the modular earphone segment of the first aspect of the invention;

[0128] FIGS. 5A and 5B show side and perspective views respectively of a wireless modular earphone of the second aspect of the invention;

[0129] FIGS. 6A and 6B show side and perspective views respectively of a wired modular earphone of the second aspect of the invention;

[0130] FIG. 7 shows the location of an acoustic transducer in a cross-sectional layout of an embodiment of the modular earphone of the second aspect of the invention;

[0131] FIG. 8 shows several cross-sectional shapes of acoustic horns;

[0132] FIG. 9 shows a graph of the frequency response of the modular earphone of the second aspect of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0133] FIG. 1 shows the constituent modules—acoustic seal module (110), body module (120) and acoustic transmission module (130)—of the modular earphone segment (100) of the first aspect of the invention. The modular earphone segment (100) houses an acoustic waveguide (200) therein, the acoustic waveguide (200) having an inner end (211) and an outer end (221), at least the inner end (211) being open.

[0134] The acoustic seal module (110) finishes in a tip (114) and houses therein a first section (210) and the inner end (211) of the acoustic waveguide (200). The body module (120) houses therein a second section (220) and the outer end (221) of the acoustic waveguide (200).

[0135] The acoustic seal module (110) is configured to be releasably connected to the body module (120) by the female keying feature (112) cooperating with the male keying features (222, 224). Due to the softer material of the acoustic seal module (110), the female keying feature (112) bends around the male keying feature (222) and attaches (securely and releasably) onto the ledge (224).

[0136] In use, since the material of the acoustic seal module (110) is soft, it is therefore flexible enough for the acoustic seal module (110) to be easily unseated and flexed around the male keying feature (222) and the ledge (224) (without permanently deforming the acoustic seal module (110)). This arrangement is advantageous since the ledge (224) gives the acoustic seal module (110) a locating point, thus preventing it from rotating and potentially slipping off.

[0137] The body module (120) is configured to be connected to the acoustic transmission module (130) by connecting means (protruding projections 132 in FIG. 2 and prongs 134 in FIG. 3) such that, when connected, the first section (210) of the acoustic waveguide (200) is substantially continuous with the second section (220) of the acoustic waveguide (200) and the acoustic seal module (110), the body module (120) and the acoustic transmission module (130) are acoustically coupled.

[0138] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the modular earphone segment of FIG. 1, whereby the body module (120) is connected to the acoustic transmission module (130) by means of the protruding projections (132).

[0139] In this embodiment, the acoustic waveguide (200) comprises between the inner end (211) and the outer end (221) a series of three conical acoustic horns (212, 214a-222b, 224) intercalated between a series of two spherical transition regions (213, 223) such that the first conical acoustic horn (212) of the series of three conical acoustic horns is housed near the inner end (211) of the acoustic waveguide (200) and the last (third) conical acoustic horn (224) of the series of three conical acoustic horns is housed near the outer end (221) of the acoustic waveguide (200).

[0140] The first section (210) of the acoustic waveguide (200) represents 50% of the whole acoustic waveguide (200), with the second section (220) representing the other 50% of the whole of the acoustic waveguide (200).

[0141] The body module (120) comprises a filter (126) located at the end of the second section (220) of the acoustic waveguide (200) facing the first section (210) of the acoustic waveguide (200). More precisely, the filter (126) is located in the middle of the second conical acoustic horn which, in this embodiment, comprises half of a conical acoustic horn (214a) continuously connected to another half (222b) of the same (second) conical acoustic horn.

[0142] FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the modular earphone segment of FIG. 1, whereby the body module (120) is connected to the acoustic transmission module (130) by means of the prongs (134). Like parts have been numbered with like numerals as those used in FIG. 2.

[0143] FIG. 4A shows a prior art rounded foam tip which, once inserted directly into the user's ear canal, expands to fill the ear canal space. After time, contact between the expanding foam and the thin skin on the inside of the ear canal causes discomfort, irritation and potentially earache. FIGS. 4B and 4C show embodiments of tips (114) of the acoustic seal module (110). The foam tips (114) do not fully enter the ear canal. The tips rather rest on the crest of the ear canal and, as such, they do not cause discomfort to the user. Having a more cylindrical and flat shape of the tips (114) helps create a bigger surface area for contact on the outside of the ear canal. This in turn creates a gasket/seal which increases isolation dramatically, whilst also reducing the irritation caused by contact between foreign materials and the inside of the ear canal. Whilst FIG. 4B shows a complete tip (114), FIG. 4C shows a tip where a groove has been removed from the cylindrical tip in order to help fit the foam tip (114) better to the geometry of the ear space near the entry into the ear canal.

[0144] FIGS. 5A and 5B show side and perspective views respectively of a wireless modular earphone (300) of the second aspect of the invention. The modular earphone (300) comprises the modular earphone segment (100) of the first aspect of the invention, an acoustic transducer (500) (not shown) and a back case (310) encasing the acoustic transmission module (130) of the modular earphone segment (100). In this embodiment, the acoustic transducer (500) (shown in FIG. 7) is housed completely within the acoustic transducer seating of the acoustic transmission module (130).

[0145] FIGS. 6A and 6B show side and perspective views respectively of a wired modular earphone (400) of the second aspect of the invention. The modular earphone (400) comprises the modular earphone segment (100) of the first aspect of the invention, an acoustic transducer (500) (not shown) and a back case (410) encasing the acoustic transmission module (130) of the modular earphone segment (100). In this embodiment, the acoustic transducer (500) (shown in FIG. 7) is housed completely within the acoustic transducer seating of the acoustic transmission module (130).

[0146] The wired modular earphone (400) is provided with the audio connection (420) comprising an electrical connector (430).

[0147] FIG. 7 shows the location of the acoustic transducer (500) in a cross-sectional layout of the modular earphone (300) of FIGS. 5A and 5B or the modular earphone (400) of FIGS. 6A and 6B of the second aspect of the invention.

[0148] FIG. 8 shows several cross-sectional shapes of acoustic horns—a radial horn in a vertical (b1) and horizontal (b2) cross-section and an oblate spheroidal horn cross-section (c). FIG. 7(a) illustrates how acoustic horns typically flare out from the driver.

[0149] Using the modular earphone segment (100) of FIG. 2 incorporated into the modular earphone (400) of FIGS. 6A and 6B, FIG. 9 shows a graph of the frequency response.

[0150] Frequency response is the measure of an earphone's ability to reproduce all frequencies equally. Theoretically, the graph should be a flat line. The left-hand side of the line is the bass, the right side is the treble. If the line is high on the left and low on the right, the earphones would be considered bass heavy. If the line is low on the left and high on the right, the headphones would likely be “bright” sounding with an emphasis on the highs and lean bass response.

[0151] To test the modular earphone, the inventors have driven the earphones with a series tones at the same voltage and increasing frequency. The output is measured at each frequency using a sensitive microphone. The continuous line is the exact same driver when channeled through the acoustic waveguide. It both boosts the output and also flattens the output which are both desirable performance features. The dotted line is the frequency response of the driver when it is not channeled by the waveguide.

[0152] Although illustrative embodiments of the invention have been disclosed in detail herein, with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is understood that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiment and that various changes and modifications can be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. For example, although FIGS. 2 and 3 show cross-sectional layouts of modular earphone segments comprising protruding projections (132) and prongs (134) respectively, other alternative embodiments may be envisaged comprising lobes, rods or cages.