Earpiece

• US 10,178,464 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2014
• Issued: 01/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/23/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Racal Acoustics Ltd. (Transdigm Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Racal Acoustics Ltd. (Transdigm Group Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hussein, Habib, Davidson, Norman
• Primary Examiner(s): Jamal, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US15/030,369
• Publication Number:
  US 20160286300A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,538 Days
• Field of Search: 381322, 381359, 381356, 381357, 381313, 381328
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 11/08 internal, e.g. earplugs
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 11/145 electric, e.g. for active noise reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/105 Earpiece supports, e.g. ear hooks for stereophonic headphones H04R5/0335
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1075 Mountings of transducers in earphones or headphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1083 Reduction of ambient noise active noise reduction per se G10K11/175; protective devices for the ear, e.g. providing acoustic protection A61F11/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/342 for microphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2410/07 Mechanical or electrical reduction of wind noise generated by wind passing a microphone

Abstract

An earpiece comprising an earbud, which is arranged such that it may be inserted into the ear canal of a user, and a housing, which houses at least one microphone that is arranged to sample the ambient environment, the housing comprising a port through which sound may be received by the microphone, the earpiece being arranged such that when the earbud is inserted into the ear canal of a user the microphone samples the ambient environment between the earpiece and the concha.

Claims

1. A hearing protection device comprising an earpiece, the earpiece comprising an earbud configured for insertion into the ear canal of a user, and a housing that houses at least one microphone arranged to sample the ambient environment, the housing comprising opposing first and second faces,wherein the first face faces and extends along a bottom surface of the concha when the earbud is in the ear canal and the second face faces away from the bottom surface of the concha and out of the concha, and the housing having spaced apart opposing third and fourth faces extending between the first and second faces, wherein the housing is configured with the third face being adjacent to the tragus of a user'"'"'s ear and the fourth face being adjacent to the rear surface of the concha of the user'"'"'s ear when the earbud is in the ear canal, wherein the housing has a longitudinal axis extending through the third and fourth faces and a transverse axis normal to the longitudinal axis and extending through the first and second faces, and a port in the fourth face of the housing and through which sound may be received by the microphone, the earbud being connected to the first face to extend outwards from the first face in an axial direction of the earbud and arranged such that when the earbud is inserted into the ear canal the microphone samples the ambient environment between the housing and a face of the concha spaced apart from the ear canal, and the fourth face has one or more protrusions adjacent the port that extend outwards in an axial direction of the port toward a rear surface of the concha spaced apart from the ear canal, wherein the protrusions are configured to maintain a gap between the port and the rear surface of the concha when the earbud is in the ear canal, and wherein the port is positioned such that there is no unimpeded straight line path into the port from outside the concha.

2. An earpiece as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the housing comprises a spigot connected to the first face of the housing, and the ear bud is connected to the spigot.

3. An earpiece as claimed in claim 2, wherein the earbud is attached to the spigot with an interference fit.

4. An earpiece as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and fourth faces of the housing are fully exterior of the ear canal when the earbud is in the ear canal.

6. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the earpiece is arranged such that the port lies within the concha.

7. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the earpiece is arranged such that the one or more protrusions are immediately adjacent the rear surface of the concha.

8. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the port faces a surface of the pinna.

9. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first face of the housing is configured to extend laterally along the bottom surface of the concha away from the earbud, and the fourth face is connected to the first face at a location spaced laterally from the earbud and adjacent to the bottom and rear surfaces of the concha.

10. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the fourth face is spaced laterally apart from the earbud and configured to be immediately adjacent to the rear face of the concha.

11. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the axis of the port is arranged at an angle of at least 45 degrees relative to the transverse axis of the housing.

12. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fourth face formed by a sidewall substantially perpendicular to the first face.

13. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protrusions comprise a pair of protrusions with one protrusion provided on either side of the port.

14. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the one or more protrusions comprise a rib or ridge having a length greater than the port.

15. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the port comprises one or more holes extending through a wall of the housing.

16. A hearing protection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the port comprises at least one hole extending through the wall of the housing, and the at least one hole comprises a radiused edge.

5. An earpiece comprising an earbud insertable into the ear canal of a user, and a housing configured to be substantially external of the ear canal when the earbud is in the ear canal, the housing containing at least one microphone arranged to sample the ambient environment, the housing comprising a port through which sound may be received by the microphone, and the housing comprising opposing first and second faces, wherein the first face faces and extends along a bottom of the concha when the earbud is in the ear canal and the second face faces away from the bottom surface of the concha and out of the concha, and the housing having spaced apart, opposing third and fourth faces extending between the first and second faces, wherein the housing is configured with the third face being adjacent to the tragus of a user'"'"'s ear and the fourth face being adjacent to the rear surface of the concha of the user'"'"'ear when the earbud is in the ear canal, wherein the housing has a longitudinal axis extending through the third and fourth faces and a transverse axis normal to the longitudinal axis and extending through the first and second faces, the earpiece being arranged such that when the earbud is inserted into the ear canal of a user the microphone samples the ambient environment between the earpiece and the concha, wherein the fourth surface of the housing in which the port is provided has one or more protrusions adjacent the port and projecting toward the rear surface of the concha spaced apart from the ear canal, wherein the protrusions are configured to maintain a gap between the port and the rear surface of the concha when the earbud is in the ear canal, wherein the port is positioned closely adjacent to the rear surface of the concha such that there is no unimpeded straight line path into the port from outside the concha when the earbud is in the ear canal.

17. A hearing protection device comprising an earpiece comprising an earbud, which is arranged such that it may be inserted into the ear canal of a user, and a housing, which houses at least one microphone that is arranged to sample the ambient environment, the housing comprising opposing first and second end faces and opposing first and second side faces extending between the first and second end faces, the housing is configured with the first end face spaced laterally apart from the ear canal and being immediately adjacent to the rear face of the concha, and the second end faces the tragus of the ear, the first side face configured to extend laterally away from the ear canal adjacent to the bottom surface of the concha and connect to the first end face adjacent to the bottom and rear surfaces of the concha, the earbud projecting axially away from the first side face and configured to extend into the ear canal, the housing having a port in the first end wall through which sound may be received by the microphone, wherein the first end face of the housing having one or more protrusions adjacent the port that extend outwards in an axial direction of the port and configured to space the port away from the rear surface of the concha, the one or more protrusions being spaced laterally away from the ear canal and being configured to engage the rear surface of the concha to block the rear surface of the concha from covering the port, the housing being arranged such that when the earbud is in the ear canal of the user, the microphone samples the ambient environment between the earpiece and the concha, wherein the port is positioned closely adjacent to the rear surface of the concha such that there is no unimpeded straight line path into the port from outside the concha when the earbud is in the ear canal.