Canal phones with structure and method for selectively passing or blocking environmental ambient sound and switchable electrical connections
First Claim
1. A canal phone having a housing adapted to engage the ear canal of a user, comprising:
- a sound chamber within said housing isolated from ambient noise;
an ambient sound-transmission passageway for acoustically connecting the sound chamber to the ambient noise; and
a switch mechanism for selectively opening and closing said ambient sound-transmission passageway.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A canal phone incorporates a transducer within an isolation sound chamber for reproducing sound from an audio source, and a sound-transmission passageway, or ambient sound port, for allowing ambient sounds to enter the isolation sound chamber. The passageway has inner and outer apertures, one oriented towards the ambient noise environment outside of the listener'"'"'s ear and the other oriented toward the isolated chamber formed by the space between a loudspeaker diaphragm within the canal phone and the tympanum of the listener'"'"'s ear. The canal phone has a port blocking switch mechanism that selectively opens or closes the aperture of the passageway that is open to the ambient noise. This switch mechanism may also electrically disconnect the transducer and seal either the outer or the inner end of the passageway in different embodiments of the invention.
33 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A canal phone having a housing adapted to engage the ear canal of a user, comprising:
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a sound chamber within said housing isolated from ambient noise; an ambient sound-transmission passageway for acoustically connecting the sound chamber to the ambient noise; and a switch mechanism for selectively opening and closing said ambient sound-transmission passageway. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An acoustic ear piece for use in listening to sound from a selected source, comprising:
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an elongated, tubular housing having an outer end wall and an inner open end disposed opposite the end wall, the housing having an outer enclosure with a volume configured to receive and support a transducer and an inner sound chamber terminating in said inner open end, so that sound generated by the transducer propagates into and through the front sound chamber and out through the inner open end; a connector on said housing for receiving electrical conductors extending from an audio signal source external to the housing to the transducer for converting electrical energy received via the conductors to sound energy which is directed into the front sound chamber; an elongated passageway having an open inner end terminating in the front sound chamber and an open outer end terminating at an outer port defined in the outer end wall of the housing; and a selectively actuable stopper switch mechanism configured to permit a user selectively to plug, block, occlude or cover and seal off the outer aperture defined in the outer end wall, or to uncover the outer aperture defined in the outer end wall so that sound from an ambient environment in communication with said outer aperture can pass into and through the outer aperture defined in the outer end wall and propagate into the front sound chamber, to co-mingle with sound generated by the transducer. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9)
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10. A canal phone assembly having a housing adapted to fill and engage the ear canal of a user, comprising:
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(a) a housing body having an outer housing portion and an inner housing portion dimensioned to fit within a user'"'"'s ear canal; (b) a sound chamber within said housing isolated from ambient noise and having a transducer for producing sound in said sound chamber; (c) an ambient sound-transmission passageway for acoustically connecting the sound chamber to a surrounding environment including ambient noise; (d) a finger-actuable switch mechanism on said housing body'"'"'s outer housing portion for selectively opening and closing said ambient sound-transmission passageway; (e) an inner opening for directing sound from said transducer in said sound chamber to an ear canal of a user, wherein said ambient sound-transmission passageway, when open, is configured for transmitting ambient noise into the sound chamber and to the ear canal of a user, and wherein said switch mechanism is operable to selectively close said passageway to prevent the ambient noise from entering said ear canal through said sound chamber. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification