Personal audio device with hearing protection
First Claim
1. A personal audio device, comprising:
- a flexible band configured to extend at least partially around a head of a user, the band having a first leg and a second leg, the first and second legs terminating at respective first and second end portions;
an audio transmitter coupled to the band;
first and second audio speakers attached to the respective first and second end portions of the band, the first and second audio speakers being electrically connected to the audio transmitter; and
first and second hearing protectors mounted on the respective first and second audio speakers, each of the hearing protectors having a main body portion and a tapered portion configured to fit an ear of the user and attenuate external sound, each hearing protector having an internal speaker chamber defined therein within which one of the audio speakers is received and an adjacent sound channel extending through the tapered portion and configured to transmit sound from the respective audio speaker to the ear of the user.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An integrated personal audio device that provides hearing protection is disclosed. The device includes a flexible band configured to extend at least partially around a head of a user. An audio transmitter is coupled to the band. The band has two legs that terminate at respective end portions. Each end portion is coupled to an audio speaker, which is electrically connected to the audio transmitter. A hearing protector is mounted onto each respective audio speaker. Each hearing protector has a sound channel configured to transmit sound from the respective audio speaker to the user'"'"'s ear. The sound channel may comprise a Venturi-shaped chamber. The sound channel may, for instance, include: (1) a sound-expansion-chamber portion; (2) a central-chamber portion having a smaller diameter than the sound-expansion-chamber portion; and (3) an end-chamber portion having a larger diameter than the central-chamber portion.
125 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A personal audio device, comprising:
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a flexible band configured to extend at least partially around a head of a user, the band having a first leg and a second leg, the first and second legs terminating at respective first and second end portions;
an audio transmitter coupled to the band;
first and second audio speakers attached to the respective first and second end portions of the band, the first and second audio speakers being electrically connected to the audio transmitter; and
first and second hearing protectors mounted on the respective first and second audio speakers, each of the hearing protectors having a main body portion and a tapered portion configured to fit an ear of the user and attenuate external sound, each hearing protector having an internal speaker chamber defined therein within which one of the audio speakers is received and an adjacent sound channel extending through the tapered portion and configured to transmit sound from the respective audio speaker to the ear of the user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A personal audio device, comprising:
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a flexible band configured to extend at least partially around a head of a user, the band having first and second end portions located at opposite ends of the band;
an audio transmitter coupled to the band and positioned between the ends of the band;
first and second audio speakers attached to respective end portions of the band, the first and second audio speakers being electrically connected to the audio transmitter; and
first and second hearing protectors removably mounted on the respective first and second audio speakers, the hearing protectors being configured to attenuate external noise, each of the hearing protectors further having a Venturi-shaped sound channel configured to transmit sound from the respective audio speaker to an ear of the user. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A hearing protector for use with a personal audio device, comprising:
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a main body portion having a cylindrical shape;
a tapered portion integrally attached to the main body portion and configured to engage an ear of the user;
a speaker chamber formed in the main body portion, the speaker chamber being configured to receive an audio speaker;
a sound expansion chamber adjacent the speaker chamber, the sound expansion chamber having a tapered, cylindrical shape and extending toward the tapered portion;
a central chamber adjacent the sound expansion chamber, the central chamber having a cylindrical shape and having a diameter smaller than a diameter of the sound expansion chamber, the central chamber extending from the main body portion into the tapered portion; and
an end chamber adjacent the central chamber and extending to an end of the tapered portion, the end chamber having a cylindrical shape and having a diameter larger than the diameter of the central channel. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A dual-use head-worn device providing hearing protection and allowing a user to listen to desired audio transmissions from a source within the device, the device comprising:
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a resilient generally C-shaped member having opposed ends with respective ear interface members, each ear interface member having an audio speaker and a resilient hearing protector at least partially covering the audio speaker, the hearing protector providing the user with hearing protection by attenuating ambient sounds and having a sound channel defined therein to convey sounds from the audio speaker to the user'"'"'s ear when the device is worn; and
a low-profile housing coupled to the band at a position between the ends of the band, the housing having a first pair of generally opposite curved side surfaces and second adjacent pair of surfaces that includes a curved outer surface and an opposite inner surface with a generally flat portion. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification