AUDIO EAR BUD HEADPHONE WITH EXTENDED CURVATURE

• US 20110164776A1
• Filed: 08/20/2010
• Published: 07/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/06/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Skullcandy, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Skullcandy, Inc.
• Inventors: Alden, Richard P., Kelly, Peter M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,515,115 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/379
• 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

Abstract

Ear bud headphones configured for use with a portable media player include a main body portion with an extended curvature configuration. In one example implementation, the ear bud headphones include a speaker housing and an extension that form a gap between the speaker housing and the extension. A user can secure a portion of the user'"'"'s outer ear in the gap (i.e., between the extension and speaker housing) such that the ear bud is securely and comfortably held in place within a user'"'"'s ear. Additionally, the ear bud headphones can be interchangeable such that a user can customize the size, fit, and style of the ear bud headphone.

Claims

1. An ear bud headphone configured to provide a user with a comfortable and secure fit such that the ear bud does not easily fall out of the user'"'"'s ear while in use, comprising:

a speaker assembly capable of converting an audio signal into a sound wave audible to the human ear;

a main body portion made from a separate component from the speaker assembly and wherein the main body portion at least partially encloses the speaker assembly; and

an extension extending out from the main body portion and away from the speaker assembly, wherein the user can position at least a portion of the user'"'"'s ear in a gap formed between the extension and the speaker assembly.

2. The ear bud headphone as recited in claim 1, wherein the speaker assembly further comprises a speaker housing that extends into the gap between the extension and the speaker assembly.

3. The ear bud headphone as recited in claim 2, wherein the speaker housing is made from an elastic material.

4. The ear bud headphone as recited in claim 3, wherein the extension is made from a bendable material, such that the user can adjust the width of the gap between the extension and the speaker assembly.

5. The ear bud headphone as recited in claim 4, comprising:

a front retainer; and

a back retainer that is formed on the main body portion, wherein the speaker assembly is secured between the front retainer and the back retainer.

6. The ear bud headphone as recited in claim 5, wherein the front retainer and the back retainer are removably coupled together.

7. The ear bud headphone as recited in claim 6, wherein the ear bud headphone is configured to be interchangeable, such that the user can uncouple the front retainer from the back retainer and exchange one or more of the following components to customize the size, fit, and aesthetic of the ear bud headphone:

the speaker assembly;

the speaker housing; and

/or the main body portion.

8. The ear bud headphone as recited in claim 7, further comprising an in-ear protrusion that is secured between the front retainer and the back retainer and extends at least partially into the user'"'"'s ear.

9. The ear bud headphone as recited in claim 7, wherein the in-ear protrusion is rotatable with respect to the front retainer and the back retainer to allow the user to adjust the angle at which the in-ear protrusion extends into the user'"'"'s ear.

10. A personal audio speaker system for use with a portable media playing device, comprising:

at least one wire that communicably connects to a portable media playing device; and

a set of one or more ear bud headphones coupled to the wire and configured to securely fit within a user'"'"'s ear such that the ear bud headphones securely remain within the user'"'"'s ear during use, each of the one or more ear bud headphones comprising;

a speaker assembly communicably connected to the wire;

a speaker housing attached to the speaker assembly and at least partially covering a back portion of the speaker assembly;

a main body portion that at least partially encloses the speaker assembly and speaker housing; and

an extension extending out from the main body portion and away from the speaker housing such that a gap is formed between the extension and the speaker housing.

11. The personal audio speaker system of claim 10, wherein the speaker housing is made from an elastic material such that the speaker housing can hold a portion of the user'"'"'s ear in compression between the speaker housing and the extension.

12. The personal audio speaker system of claim 11, wherein the extension is made from a bendable material that a user can displace to adjust the width of the gap between the speaker housing and the extension.

13. The personal audio speaker system of claim 12, further comprising a front retainer that cooperates with the main body portion to hold the speaker assembly and speaker housing in place within the main body portion.

14. The personal audio speaker system of claim 13, wherein the front retainer is removably coupled to the main body portion, such that a user can remove the front retainer and exchange one or more of the following components to customize the size, fit, and aesthetic of the personal audio speaker system:

the speaker assembly;

the speaker housing; and

/or

the body portion.

15. A interchangeable ear bud headphone kit for use with a portable media playing device, the interchangeable ear bud headphone kit providing a user the ability to customize the size, configuration, fit, and style of ear bud headphones, the interchangeable ear bud headphone kit comprising:

an ear bud headphone, comprising;

a main body portion having a retainer portion and an extension extending away from the retainer portion such that a gap is formed between the retainer portion and the extension; and

a retainer ring that is removably connected to the retainer portion of the main body portion; and

one or more interchangeable components, wherein the retainer ring is operatively associated with the retainer portion to secure the interchangeable components to the main body portion as desired by the user.

16. The interchangeable ear bud headphone kit in claim 15, wherein the interchangeable components comprise one or more speaker assemblies of varying sizes, configurations, and/or acoustic properties.

17. The interchangeable ear bud headphone kit in claim 16, wherein:

the interchangeable components comprise one or more speaker housings of varying sizes, or configurations; and

each of the one or more the speaker housings is configured to couple to a rear portion of the corresponding one or more speaker assemblies.

18. The interchangeable ear bud headphone kit in claim 17, wherein:

the speaker housing extends through the retainer portion of the main body portion and into the gap created between the extension and the retainer portion;

and the size of the speaker housing can vary the width of the gap between the extension and the speaker housing such that a user can customize the fit of the ear bud headphone.

19. The interchangeable ear bud headphone kit in claim 18, wherein:

the retainer ring comprises one or more tabs; and

the retainer portion comprises slots that correspond to the one or more tabs on the retainer ring, such that the retainer ring and retainer portion are removably connected together when the tabs engage the corresponding slots.

20. The interchangeable ear bud headphone kit of claim 19, wherein the speaker assembly is removably coupled to a wire that communicates an audio signal to the speaker assembly.