High Transmission Loss Cushion

• US 20110216909A1
• Filed: 04/01/2011
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Original Assignee: Bose Corporation
• Inventors: Wallace, Eric M., Sapiejewski, Roman
• Granted Patent: US 8,467,539 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/71.6
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1008 Earpieces of the supra-aural or circum-aural type
• 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

Abstract

A headset including an earcup having a front opening adapted to be adjacent to the ear of a user, the earcup extending in a radial direction and an axial direction and defining an earcup volume; and a bellows cushion extending around the periphery of the front opening of the earcup and sized to engage the ear of the user, the bellows cushion comprising a plurality of folded segments located at an outer radial portion of the bellows cushion, and configured to be substantially compliant along an axial direction.

Claims

1. A headset comprising:

an earcup having a front opening adapted to be adjacent to the ear of a user, the earcup extending in a radial direction and an axial direction and defining an earcup volume; and

a bellows cushion extending around the periphery of the front opening of the earcup and sized to engage the ear of the user, the bellows cushion comprising a plurality of folded segments located at an outer radial portion of the bellows cushion, and configured to be substantially compliant along an axial direction.

2. The headset of claim 1 wherein the bellows cushion comprises a control surface extending along an inner radial portion of the bellows cushion, the control surface disposed between the earcup volume and the volume of the bellows cushion.

3. The headset of claim 2 wherein the control surface comprises an acoustically transparent material.

4. The headset of claim 2 wherein the control surface comprises a plurality of audio openings.

5. The headset of claim 2 wherein the control surface comprises a fabric mesh material.

6. The headset of claim 2 wherein the control surface comprises a metal mesh material.

7. The headset of claim 1 wherein the bellows cushion comprises an elastomeric material.

8. The headset of claim 1 wherein the bellows cushion comprises an inner foam cushion which is substantially bounded by the bellows cushion.

9. The headset of claim 8 wherein the inner foam cushion comprises an open-celled foam material.

10. The headset of claim 1 further comprising a stiffening component attached to an outer radial portion of the bellows cushion.

11. The headset of claim 10 wherein the stiffening component comprises a substantially rigid support ring.

12. The headset of claim 11 wherein the stiffening component comprises a gel layer.

13. The headset of claim 1 further comprising a driver inside the earcup.

14. The headset of claim 13 further comprising:

a baffle disposed within the earcup to define front and rear cavities both contained within the earcup volume;

a microphone inside the earcup adjacent to the driver; and

active noise reducing circuitry intercoupling the microphone and the driver constructed and arranged to provide active noise cancellation.

15. The headset of claim 14 wherein the active noise reduction circuitry comprises feedback noise reduction circuitry.

16. The headset of claim 14 wherein the active noise reduction circuitry comprises feed-forward noise reduction circuitry.

17. An earcup assembly comprising:

a bellows cushion configured to be substantially compliant along an axial direction and configured for attachment to an earcup, the earcup having a front opening adapted to be adjacent to the ear of a user, the earcup extending in a radial direction and an axial direction;

a plurality of folded segments located at an outer radial portion of the bellows cushion; and

a control surface extending along an inner radial portion of the bellows cushion and disposed between the earcup volume and the volume of the bellows cushion, the control surface comprising an acoustically transparent material.

18. The earcup assembly of claim 17 wherein the bellows cushion comprises an inner foam cushion which is substantially bounded by the bellows cushion.

19. The earcup assembly of claim 17 wherein the control surface comprises a plurality of audio openings.

20. A headset comprising:

an earcup having a front opening adapted to be adjacent to the ear of the user, the earcup having a radial direction and an axial direction;

a baffle disposed within the earcup to define front and rear cavities both contained within an earcup volume; and

a bellows cushion extending around the periphery of the front opening of the earcup and sized to engage the ear of the user, the bellows configured to be substantially compliant along an axial direction;

a transducer inside the earcup;

a microphone inside the earcup adjacent to a transducer; and

active noise reducing circuitry intercoupling the microphone and the driver constructed and arranged to provide active noise cancellation.