In-ear earphone

• US 7,590,258 B2
• Filed: 07/05/2007
• Issued: 09/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sleek Audio, LLC
• Original Assignee: Sleek Audio, LLC
• Inventors: Krywko, Mark Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Ensey; Brian
• Application Number:
  US11/825,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20080019554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 803 Days
• Field of Search: 381/23.1, 381/309, 381/327, 381/380
• US Class Current: 381/380
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1033 Cables or cables storage, e.g. cable reels cord reels per se H02G11/02; arrangements for storing and repeatedly paying-out and re-storing lengths of conductors or cables B65H75/34; extensible conductors or cables, e.g. self-coiling cords H01B7/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1041 Mechanical or electronic switches, or control elements switches in general H01H
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1058 Manufacture or assembly

Abstract

An in-ear earphone for providing high fidelity sound to the ear and having a housing with a receiver bay, at least one speaker positioned in the receiver bay, a flexible acoustical seal configured for insertion into the user'"'"'s ear canal, a removable treble stem having a stepped opening therethrough configured for receipt of a filter for treble adjustment and positioned on one side of the receiver bay between the receiver bay and the acoustical seal, a cavity on the opposed side of the receiver bay remote from the stem that is configured for receiving removable plugs for bass adjustment, a strengthening and stabilizing member adapted for securing the housing around the speaker and which when optionally removable allows easy access to the speaker within the receiver bay, and a removable coaxial cable connector positioned to communicate with the receiver bay and which allows movable cable connection for user comfort.

Claims

1. An in-ear earphone for providing high fidelity sound to the ear of a user, said earphone comprising:

a housing having opposed ends and a receiver bay situated between said opposed ends, with one of said opposed ends being a front end that is inserted first into a user'"'"'s ear canal and the other of said opposed ends being a rear end;

at least one single armature speaker positioned in said receiver bay;

first sound adjustment means adapted for user-executed acoustical treble tuning of sound produced by said single armature speaker as a result of changes made in the volume of air passing therethrough, said first sound adjustment means removably associated with said front end of said housing;

flexible acoustical sealing means adapted for insertion into a user'"'"'s ear canal, said flexible acoustical sealing means also positioned for detachable support at least in part upon said first sound adjustment means, said flexible acoustical sealing means further configured so that when flexible acoustical sealing means is supported by said first sound adjustment means and said first sound adjustment means becomes disassociated from said housing, said flexible acoustical sealing means also becomes disassociated from said housing; and

a coaxial cable connector associated with said housing and positioned to communicate with said speaker in said receiver bay so that when a coaxial cable is attached to said connector and transmits a signal to said speaker, a user may periodically and repeatedly employ said first removable sound adjustment means to customize the treble portion of the sound created by said speaker according to user preference.

2. The earphone of claim 1 wherein said first removable sound adjustment means is a treble tip comprising a longitudinally-extending stepped opening.

3. The earphone of claim 2 further comprising a quantity of filter material within at least a portion of said longitudinally-extending stepped opening.

4. The earphone of claim 1 wherein said housing configuration is selected from a group consisting of triangular-shaped housings, triangular-shaped housings having a narrow thickness dimension, housings having at least two parts, and cylindrical housings.

5. The earphone of claim 1 further comprising at least one easily removable strengthening and stabilizing member adapted for securing said housing in a position of use around said at least one single armature speaker and which when removed allows user access to said receiver bay.

6. The earphone of claim 5 wherein said at least one strengthening and stabilizing member is selected from a group consisting of sleeves, angular sleeves, decorative sleeves, and compression rings.

7. The earphone of claim 1 wherein said coaxial cable connector is selected from a group consisting of threaded connectors and connectors having a snap-fit connection of a coaxial cable thereto that also permits swiveling movement of the coaxial cable relative to said housing.

8. The earphone of claim 1 further comprising second removable sound adjustment means adapted for bass tuning.

9. The earphone of claim 8 wherein said second removable sound adjustment means comprises at least one venting port.

10. The earphone of claim 9 wherein said second removable sound adjustment means further comprises at least one removable plug configured for sealing said at least one venting port.

11. The earphone of claim 10 wherein said at least one removable plug further comprises materials selected from acoustical damping material and filter material.

12. The earphone of claim 1 wherein said coaxial cable connector is removable from said housing.

13. The earphone of claim 8 wherein said second removable sound adjustment means further comprises filter material adapted for altering the flow of air through said at least one venting port.

14. The earphone of claim 8 wherein said second removable sound adjustment means comprises at least one venting cavity in close association with said receiver bay.

15. The earphone of claim 14 wherein said at least one venting cavity is configured hold acoustic dampening material.

16. The earphone of claim 15 wherein said housing is configured for easy user access to said at least one venting cavity for acoustic dampening material exchange.

17. The earphone of claim 1 wherein said second removable sound adjustment means comprises at least one venting cavity and at least one venting port.

18. The earphone of claim 1 further comprising second removable sound adjustment means adapted for bass tuning that is in close association with said rear end of said housing.

19. The earphone of claim 18 with said first removable sound adjustment means and said second removable sound adjustment means substantially longitudinally aligned.

20. The earphone of claim 19 wherein said coaxial cable connector associated with said housing forms an oblique angle with said substantially longitudinally aligned first removable sound adjustment means and said second removable sound adjustment means.