Automatically switched headset

• US 5,144,678 A
• Filed: 02/04/1991
• Issued: 09/01/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Golden West Communications Incorporated Yakima WA
• Original Assignee: Golden West Communications, Inc
• Inventors: Lenz, Vernon C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ng, Jin F.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lefkowitz, Edward
• Application Number:
  US07/650,416
• Time in Patent Office: 575 Days
• Field of Search: 381/25, 381/72, 381/74, 381/183, 381/187
• US Class Current: 381/384
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1008 Earpieces of the supra-aural or circum-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 5/033 Headphones for stereophonic communication details thereof, e.g. relating to batteries, cables or control elements H04R1/10

Abstract

A headset is provided, of a type which includes a pair of earmuff devices at opposite ends of a head band, which automatically switches an electronic circuit on or off when the headset is placed on the head or taken off, in a simple and rugged construction. Each earmuff device is of the type that includes a largely rigid housing (24, FIG. 3) and a soft resilient cushion (30) mounted on the housing and designed to receive the ear of the wearer and press against the side of the wearer'"'"'s head which surrounds his ear. A switch (54) connected to the circuit includes an actuating device (60) that is depressed and released along with the cushion. One type of switch (54) is a mechanical type whose actuator device (60) has a front end lying against a rear side (64) of the cushion to be deflected and operate the switch when the cushion is rearwardly deflected during placement on the wearer'"'"'s head. Another switch includes an electrically conductive element (92, FIG. 5) lying on the forward surface of the cushion to directly contact the wearer'"'"'s skin, and a detect subcircuit (96) which is responsive to the electrical potential of the wearer'"'"'s body to switch the electronic circuit.

Claims

1. An automatically switched headset comprising:

a head band with opposite ends;

first and second earmuff devices each mounted on a different one of said band ends, said first earmuff device having a housing holding an electronic circuit which can be switched between on and off states and which includes an ear speaker, said first earmuff device having a soft resilient cushion with a rear fixedly mounted on said housing to prevent movement of almost all of said rear relative to said housing but with at least one location on said rear being free of fixation to said housing, said earmuff device having a front exposed to press against the head of a wearer, said cushion having an opening for receiving an ear of the wearer and said cushion extending completely around said opening to press against the area at the side of the wearer'"'"'s head which surrounds his ear, with most of the cushion lying immediately outside said opening being fixedly mounted on said housing;

said circuit including a switch that switches said circuit between said on and off states and that is mounted on said housing of said first earmuff device;

said switch including a switch actuating device having a front end lying against a location on said rear of said cushion which is not fixedly mounted on said housing, to be deflected rearwardly and switch said circuit to said on state, as said cushion is rearwardly deflected when the headset is placed on the wearer'"'"'s head.

2. The headset described in claim 1 wherein:

said housing includes a flat front wall extending in a loop to leave a central sound-passing opening within said loop, said housing also having a rear wall, and a portion of said circuit lies between said walls, with said cushion extending in a loop and mounted on said front wall;

said front wall has a switch-holding aperture with an aperture center spaced from said hole, and said switch body is mounted in said front wall hole, with said actuating device projecting forwardly from said body.

3. The headset described in claim 1 wherein:

said location on said rear of said cushion, against which said switch actuating device lies, is positioned forward of the rear of the rest of said cushion.

4. In an automatically switched headset that includes a head band and first and second earmuff devices mounted on ends of said band, with the first earmuff device including a housing holding at least part of an electronic circuit that can be switched between on and off states and a soft resilient cushion on the front side of the housing for pressing against the wearer'"'"'s head around his ear, and wherein the first earmuff includes a switch for sensing when the headset is taken on or off of the wearer to switch the state of the circuit, the improvement wherein:

said switch includes a conductive element with a portion lying at the front side of said cushion and a subcircuit which is responsive to the potential of said element to switch the state of said circuit;

said cushion has a central hole to receive most of the wearer'"'"'s ear, and said cushion has upper and lower portions;

said conductive element is positioned at the lower portion of said cushion, to engage the earlobe or skin immediately below the earlobe.

5. A method for use with a headset having a pair of earmuff devices mounted at opposite ends of a band, wherein a first of the earmuff devices has a housing, a ring-shaped cushion on the front of the housing which forms a central hole for receiving the ear for pressing against the side of a wearer'"'"'s head around his ear, and an electronic circuit that is turned on and off when the headset is put on and taken off, respectively comprising:

sensing compression and lack of compression of said cushion against the portion of the head surrounding the ear to switch said circuit on and off;

respectively

said cushion has a front side for pressing against the wearer and a rear side with most of said rear side fixed on said housing, and said step of sensing includes pressing a location on said rear side of said cushion which is not fixed to said housing against the actuator of a mechanical switch.

6. A method for use with a headset having a pair of earmuff devices mounted at opposite ends of a band, wherein a first of the earmuff devices has a housing, a ring-shaped cushion on the front of the housing for pressing against the side of a wearer'"'"'s head around his ear, and an electronic circuit that is turned on and off when the headset is put on and taken off, respectively comprising:

touching substantially the earlobe of the wearer by an electrode on said first earmuff device to sense the electrical potential of the wearer, and turning on said headset when the wearer'"'"'s earlobe is touched by said electrode.