In-the-ear porting structures for earbud
First Claim
1. An in-ear-canal headphone comprising:
- at least one transducer;
an air chamber comprising a first opening and a second opening, wherein the first opening is configured to allow air flow between the air chamber and the at least one transducer, and wherein the second opening is configured to allow air flow between the air chamber and a wearer'"'"'s ear canal; and
an acoustically resistive structure comprising a plurality of grooves formed along an inner surface of the air chamber, wherein the plurality of grooves is configured to control resonance in the air chamber and in the wearer'"'"'s ear canal by extending along the inner surface from the first opening of the air chamber to the second opening of the air chamber.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, apparatus and methods are discussed for controlling resonance in in-the-ear headphones. Resonance effects resulting from wave reflection and superposition can occur in the cavity formed by the port tube of an earbud and the wearer'"'"'s ear canal. In this invention, acoustically resistive structures are provided to create sound diffusion in the cavity. In one embodiment, a spring coil with several adjustable parameters is inserted into the port tube. In another embodiment, a pattern of grooves is carved into the inner surface of the port tube. Porous filters can also be used in conjunction with both of the embodiments described above. The result of providing the resistive structures in an earbud is a flattened cavity frequency response and improved sound quality.
23 Citations
42 Claims
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1. An in-ear-canal headphone comprising:
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at least one transducer; an air chamber comprising a first opening and a second opening, wherein the first opening is configured to allow air flow between the air chamber and the at least one transducer, and wherein the second opening is configured to allow air flow between the air chamber and a wearer'"'"'s ear canal; and an acoustically resistive structure comprising a plurality of grooves formed along an inner surface of the air chamber, wherein the plurality of grooves is configured to control resonance in the air chamber and in the wearer'"'"'s ear canal by extending along the inner surface from the first opening of the air chamber to the second opening of the air chamber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for controlling resonance in an in-ear-canal headphone, the method comprising:
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generating sound waves by utilizing at least one transducer; directing the generated sound waves from the at least one transducer to a wearer'"'"'s ear canal through an air chamber having a first opening and a second opening, wherein the first opening is configured to allow air flow between the air chamber and the at least one transducer, and the second opening is configured to allow air flow between the air chamber and the wearer'"'"'s ear canal; diffusing the generated sound waves by utilizing an acoustically resistive structure comprising a plurality of grooves formed along an inner surface of the air chamber, wherein the plurality of grooves is configured to control resonance in the air chamber and in the wearer'"'"'s ear canal by extending along the inner surface from the first opening of the air chamber to the second opening of the air chamber; and controlling resonance of the generated sound waves in the air chamber and in the wearer'"'"'s ear canal based on the configuration of the plurality of grooves. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An in-ear-canal headphone for use with a portable media device, the in-ear-canal headphone comprising:
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at least one transducer; an air chamber comprising a first opening and a second opening, wherein the first opening is configured to allow air flow between the air chamber and the at least one transducer, and wherein the second opening is configured to allow air flow between the air chamber and a wearer'"'"'s ear canal; and an acoustically resistive structure comprising a spring coil disposed along an inner surface of the air chamber, wherein the spring coil is configured to control resonance in the air chamber and in the wearer'"'"'s ear canal by extending along the inner surface from the first opening of the air chamber to the second opening of the air chamber. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A headphone device comprising:
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a first transducer; a second transducer; a first air chamber in acoustic communication with the first transducer; a second air chamber in acoustic communication with the second transducer; and a third air chamber in acoustic communication with each of the first air chamber and the second air chamber, wherein one air chamber of the first air chamber, the second air chamber, and the third air chamber comprises an acoustic resistive portion, wherein the acoustic resistive portion comprises at least one of; a plurality of grooves formed along an inner surface of the one air chamber, wherein the plurality of grooves is configured to control resonance of sound emitted by at least one of the first transducer and the second transducer by extending from one end of the one air chamber to another end of the one air chamber; and a spring coil disposed along the inner surface of the one air chamber, wherein the spring coil is configured to control the resonance by extending from the one end of the one air chamber to the another end of the one air chamber. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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Specification