Wireless earphone

• US 10,567,861 B2
• Filed: 09/07/2018
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Rich, Zachary C., Stiehl, Kurt R., Chawan, Arun D., Howes, Michael B., Aase, Jonathan S., Andersen, Esge B., Azmi, Yacine, Minoo, Jahan C., Shaw, David J., Kumar, Aarti, Prats, Augustin, Watson, Robert D., Paquier, Baptiste P., Berny, Axel D., Cook, Benjamin W., Guterman, Jerzy S., Cousins, Benjamin Adair
• Primary Examiner(s): Gauthier, Gerald
• Application Number:
  US16/125,178
• Publication Number:
  US 20190007763A1
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• Field of Search: 381 74, 381309, 381322, 381379, 381380, 381382, 381384, 381 716, 381 92, 381317, 381 3, 381 79, 381311, 381375, 381 66, 381111, 381151, 381315, 381325, 381328, 381370, 381381, 381385, 455 413, 4555752, 455570, 455352, 4555691, 455149, 455573, 455 412, 455418, 455557, 4555751, 704233, 704235, 7042701, 370341, 701 23, 375341, 379430, 379431, 320107, 320103, 340692, 345 8, 63 114
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1025 Accumulators or arrangements for charging secondary cells per se H01M10/00; charging in general H02J7/00
• 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 2201/107 Monophonic and stereophonic headphones with microphone for two-way hands free communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2420/07 Applications of wireless loudspeakers or wireless microphones

Abstract

A housing has a bud portion abutting an elongated stem portion. The bud portion is to fit within an ear. The bud portion has a primary sound outlet at its far end that is to be inserted into an outer ear canal, and abuts the stem portion at its near end. A speaker driver is inside the bud portion. Electronic circuitry inside the housing includes a wireless communications interface to receive audio content over-the-air and in response provides an audio signal to the speaker driver. A rechargeable battery as a power source for the electronic circuitry is located inside a cavity of the stem portion. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Claims

1. A wireless earphone comprising:

a housing having a first portion abutting a proximal end of a second portion, wherein the first portion is sized and dimensioned to fit within an ear, the first portion a) having a first end comprising a sound outlet and b) a second end abutting the second portion;

a speaker driver positioned inside the housing;

electronic circuitry positioned inside the housing that includes a wireless communications interface to receive audio content over-the-air and in response provides an audio signal to the speaker driver;

a rechargeable power source positioned inside a cavity of the second portion;

a first microphone positioned inside the cavity of the second portion, and closer to a distal end of the second portion than the rechargeable power source, the distal end being distal to the proximal end of the second portion; and

a second microphone positioned inside the housing.

2. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the first portion comprises a flexible tip at the first end, and the flexible tip is dimensioned to be inserted into the ear.

3. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the speaker driver is positioned inside a cavity of the first portion and the rechargeable power source is positioned between the speaker driver and the microphone.

4. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the rechargeable power source is a rechargeable battery.

5. The earphone of claim 1 wherein a front face of the first portion extends between the first end and the second end of the first portion, and is positioned just behind and in contact with a tragus of the ear, and a rear face of the first portion also extends between the first end and the second end of the first portion.

6. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the first portion comprises a center axis through the sound outlet, and the second portion comprises a longitudinal axis that is orthogonal to the center axis.

7. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the second microphone is positioned in a cavity of the first portion.

8. The earphone of claim 7 further comprising a third microphone, wherein the third microphone is positioned inside the housing, between the first microphone and the second microphone.

9. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the cavity in the second portion is open to a cavity in the first portion and a plurality of wires pass from the cavity in the second portion to the cavity in the first portion to supply power to the electronic circuitry.

10. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the earphone further comprises a connector positioned in the second portion, wherein the connector is coupled to a) the rechargeable power source, for charging the power source from an external power source, and b) the electronic circuitry, for data communications with an external device.

11. The earphone of claim 10 wherein the connector comprises a pair of conductive terminals that are exposed at an external surface of the second portion to conduct electrical power from the external power source to charge the rechargeable power source that is inside the second portion.

12. The earphone of claim 11 wherein the microphone is positioned within the second portion, longitudinally between the pair of conductive terminals and the rechargeable power source.

13. The earphone of claim 1 wherein the rechargeable power source is a lithium-based rechargeable battery.

14. The earphone of claim 1 wherein a longitudinal axis of the second portion is vertical, while a center axis of the primary sound outlet is horizontal.

15. A wireless earphone comprising:

a housing having a first portion abutting a second portion, wherein the first portion is sized and dimensioned to fit within an ear, the first portion a) having a sound outlet at its far end that is to be inserted into the ear and b) a near end abutting the second portion;

a speaker driver positioned inside the housing;

electronic circuitry positioned inside the housing, the electronic circuitry comprising a wireless communications interface to receive audio content over-the-air and, in response, provide an audio signal to the speaker driver;

a rechargeable power source positioned inside the housing;

a connecting member extends from, and is permanently coupled to, the housing; and

a sensor positioned within the housing and electrically coupled to the electronic circuitry, the sensor comprising one of a wideband accelerometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a touch sensor, or combinations thereof.

16. The earphone of claim 15 wherein the connecting member comprises a cord dimensioned to tether the earphone to another earphone.

17. The earphone of claim 15 wherein the connecting member comprises an ear hook dimensioned to attach the earphone to the user'"'"'s ear.

18. The earphone of claim 15 wherein the speaker driver is positioned within a cavity that is inside the first portion, the rechargeable power source is positioned within a cavity that is inside the second portion, and a microphone is positioned within the cavity inside the second portion, the microphone is positioned closer to a far end of the second portion than the rechargeable power source.

19. The earphone of claim 15 further comprising a microphone positioned within a cavity of the housing that is inside the second portion.

20. The earphone of claim 15 further comprising a flexible tip coupled to the first portion.