Headphone device

• US 5,018,599 A
• Filed: 09/18/1989
• Issued: 05/28/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Nageno, Koji, Dohi, Masahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Brian W.
• Application Number:
  US07/408,569
• Time in Patent Office: 617 Days
• Field of Search: 181/129, 181/137, 381/153, 381/158, 381/160, 381/183, 381/187
• US Class Current: 181/129
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1008 Earpieces of the supra-aural or circum-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/0335 Earpiece support, e.g. headbands or neckrests for monophonic headphones H04R1/105

Abstract

A headphone device includes a pair of housings each attached to a hanger and supporting a loudspeaker unit, and a headband having opposite ends to which the hangers are secured. Each housing includes a front plate to which the loudspeaker unit is attached and a main body portion preferably constructed of natural wood and enclosing the loudspeaker unit with the exception of a front surface of the loudspeaker unit. The inner surface of the main body portion of the housing includes a plurality of irregularities which prevent the generation of standing waves and scatter the housing resonant locations so as to maintain a high quality of reproduced sound.

Claims

1. A headphone device comprising:

a loudspeaker unit including a diaphragm having a front surface, a back surface, and a periphery, and a magnetic circuit at the back surface of said diaphragm; and

a housing having a front plate supporting said loudspeaker unit at the periphery of said diaphragm, said housing enclosing said loudspeaker unit except for the front surface of the diaphragm thereof, said housing including means for preventing the generation of standing sound waves within said housing comprising an inner surface of said housing provided with irregularities thereon.

2. A headphone device according to claim 1;

wherein said loudspeaker unit is supported in said housing so that said front surface of said diaphragm lies in a plane which is approximately parallel to said inner surface of said housing.

3. A headphone device according to claim 1;

wherein said housing includes a main body portion affixed to said front plate and which includes said inner surface with said irregularities thereon.

4. A headphone device according to claim 1;

wherein said irregularities are provided on at least a portion of said inner surface of said housing which faces said magnetic circuit.

5. A headphone device according to claim 4;

wherein said irregularities include a plurality of grooves in the portion of said inner surface of said housing.

6. A headphone device according to claim 5;

wherein said front surface of said diaphragm lies generally in a plane and in which said grooves have surfaces inclined at a predetermined angle so as to be non-parallel to said plane.

7. A headphone device according to claim 4;

wherein said irregularities include projections on the portion of said inner surface of said housing.

8. A headphone device according to claim 4;

wherein said irregularities include cross-pieces which project toward said magnetic circuit from the portion of said inner surface of said housing.

9. A headphone device comprising:

a pair of loudspeaker units each including a diaphragm having a front surface, a back surface and a periphery and a magnetic circuit at the back surface of said diaphragm;

a pair of housings each supporting a respective one of said loudspeaker units at the periphery of said diaphragm;

a pair of hangers each supporting a respective one of said housings; and

a headband having opposite ends to which said hangers are respectively attached;

each of said housings including a front plate to which the respective loudspeaker unit is supported, and a main body portion of natural wood having an inner surface and enclosing said loudspeaker unit except for the front surface of the diaphragm thereof, said inner surface of said main body portion including means for preventing the generation of standing sound waves within said housing comprising a plurality of irregularities on said inner surface.

10. A headphone device according to claim 9;

wherein said irregularities are provided on at least a portion of the inner surface of said main body portion which faces the magnetic circuit of said respective one of said loudspeaker units.

11. A headphone device according to claim 10;

wherein said irregularities include a plurality of grooves in the portion of the inner surface of said main body portion.

12. A headphone device according to claim 11;

wherein said front surface of the diaphragm of each of said pair of loudspeaker units lies generally in a respective plane and in which each of said plurality of grooves has a surface included at a predetermined respective angle so as to be non-parallel to said respective plane.

13. A headphone device according to claim 10;

wherein said irregularities included projections provided on said portion of the inner surface of said main body portion.

14. A headphone device according to claim 10;

wherein said irregularities include a plurality of cross-pieces provided on said portion of the inner surface of said main body portion.