Earset assembly

• US 7,570,777 B1
• Filed: 01/13/2004
• Issued: 08/04/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: STEP Labs, Inc. (Dolby Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Taenzer, Jon C., Nguyen, Thanh Q., Saleh, Donald R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ni; Suhan
• Application Number:
  US10/757,796
• Time in Patent Office: 2,030 Days
• Field of Search: 379/430, 381/322, 381/330, 381/329, 381324-328, 381/361, 381/367, 381370-372, 381/374, 381/375, 381/379, 381380-382
• US Class Current: 381/381
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/00 Deaf-aid sets , i.e. electro-acoustic or electro-mechanical hearing aids; Electric tinnitus maskers providing an auditory perception electrical stimulation of auditory nerves to promote the auditory function A61N1/36038; optical stimulation of auditory nerves to promote the auditory function A61N5/0622

Abstract

A wired or wireless earset assembly includes an earset housing having a curved portion configured to fit to the top of an ear, a speaker driver contained in a speaker housing, a flexible tube having a first extension so as to be coupled with at least a part of the curved portion of the earset housing and a second extension coupled with the speaker housing, a rotatable cap containing a bud coupled with the speaker driver, a sound delivery port in the bud, a circuitry for processing an input signal in the case, and a wire in the flexible tube connecting the circuitry and the speaker driver.

Claims

1. An earpiece for sound delivery comprising:

(a) a housing;

(b) a speaker having a speaker axis and located in said housing; and

,

(c) a rotatable cap having a sound exit port configured to directly communicate sound from the speaker to an ear canal of a user when the earpiece is worn by the user, the sound being adjustably directable from the speaker away from the direction of the speaker axis towards the ear canal of the user such that adjustment of a primary direction of sound propagation from the earpiece is achieved without disassembly of the rotatable cap from the housing.

2. An earpiece according to claim 1 wherein said rotatable cap comprises a body rotatably coupled to said housing, a bud extending from the body, and port means for providing sound communication from the speaker to the end of the bud.

3. An earpiece according to claim 2 wherein said bud is constructed so as not to occlude the ear when inserted in the entrance to a user'"'"'s ear.

4. An earpiece according to claim 2 wherein said bud includes grooves so that said bud does not occlude the ear when inserted in the entrance to a user'"'"'s ear.

5. An earpiece according to claim 2 wherein said bud has a diameter less than the diameter of the entrance to the user'"'"'s ear so that said bud does not occlude the ear when inserted in the entrance to a user'"'"'s ear.

6. An earpiece for sound delivery according to claim 2, wherein the bud has a substantially frusto conical shape.

7. An earpiece according to claim 2 wherein said port means comprises one port.

8. An earpiece for sound delivery according to claim 2, wherein the bud is a cylinder.

9. An earpiece for sound delivery according to claim 2, further comprising a hollow mushroom-shaped element coupled with an end of the bud.

10. An earpiece for sound delivery according to claim 1, wherein the user'"'"'s head has a front, a back and two sides, and the speaker is oriented with an angle between 45 degrees and 135 degrees to a side of the head of the user, an output side of the speaker facing to the front of the head of the user.

11. An earpiece for sound delivery according to claim 1, wherein the axis of the speaker is oriented substantially perpendicularly to the axis of the ear canal of a user.

12. An earpiece for sound delivery according to claim 1, wherein an angle of the axis of the bud to the axis of the speaker is between 15 degrees and 90 degrees.

13. An earpiece for sound delivery according to claim 2, wherein the material of the cap is silicone rubber.

14. An earpiece according to claim 1, wherein, when the earpiece is worn by a user, the axis of the speaker is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the user'"'"'s ear canal.

15. An earpiece according to claim 2, wherein substantially perpendicular to the axis of the user'"'"'s ear canal includes a range of angles of said speaker axis of between plus 45 degrees and minus 45 degrees to a line perpendicular to the axis of the user'"'"'s ear canal.

16. An earpiece according to claim 1, wherein the rotatable cap is configured such that the angle between the speaker axis and the direction of sound propagation from the earpiece is between 15 degrees and 90 degrees, and, when the earpiece is worn by a user, the axis of rotation of the rotatable cap is substantially perpendicular to the axis of the user'"'"'s ear canal.

17. An earpiece according to claim 1, wherein the housing in which the speaker is positioned is a speaker housing, and said speaker housing is supported by an earset housing configured to fit the top of a user'"'"'s ear, such that the speaker housing is supported adjacent to the ear canal of the user'"'"'s ear.

18. An earpiece according to claim 1, wherein, when the earpiece is worn by a user, a front face of the speaker is directed substantially forward, in the direction the user is facing.

19. An earset sound delivery device comprising:

(a) support means to support a speaker having a speaker axis in the concha of a user'"'"'s ear; and

(b) a rotatable cap rotatably coupled to said support means, the rotatable cap having a sound exit port configured to directly communicate sound from the speaker to an ear canal of a user when the earpiece is worn by the user, said rotatable cap being rotatable without uncoupling said rotatable coupled cap to various angles to accommodate anatomical differences among users, said rotatable cap configured to adjustably direct sound from the speaker away from the direction of the speaker axis towards the ear canal of a user such that adjustment of a primary direction of sound propagation from the earset sound delivery device is achieved.

20. An earset sound delivery device according to claim 19 wherein said rotatable cap is rotatable about the axis of the speaker.

21. An earset sound delivery device according to claim 19 wherein said cap is constructed to form an acoustic seal with said speaker.