Earpiece with hollow elongated member having a nonlinear portion

• US 8,983,103 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2011
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Think-A-Move Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Think-A-Move Ltd.
• Inventors: Vlach, Christopher F., Darbonne, Tom
• Primary Examiner(s): Ensey, Brian
• Application Number:
  US13/336,457
• Publication Number:
  US 20120294465A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,180 Days
• Field of Search: 381/23.1, 381/60, 381/328, 381/330, 381/380, 381/382
• US Class Current: 381/328
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/04 Acoustic filters ; Acoustic resonators
• CPC Class Codes: G10K 11/22 for conducting sound through hollow pipes, e.g. speaking tubes
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/035 Improving the acoustic characteristics by means of constructional features of the housing, e.g. ribs, walls, resonating chambers or cavities
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/05 specially adapted for use on head, throat or breast
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/58 Anti-side-tone circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6066 including a wireless connection
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1016 Earpieces of the intra-aural type
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/1075 Mountings of transducers in earphones or headphones
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2853 using an acoustic labyrinth or a transmission line
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 1/2869 Reduction of undesired resonances, i.e. standing waves within enclosure, or of undesired vibrations, i.e. of the enclosure itself
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2201/107 Monophonic and stereophonic headphones with microphone for two-way hands free communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/554 using a wireless connection, e.g. between microphone and amplifier or using Tcoils
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 25/604 of acoustic or vibrational transducers

Abstract

An earpiece may be used to detect sounds from an ear canal of a user. The earpiece may include a microphone assembly and an acoustic pathway that is at least partially defined by a hollow elongated member having a nonlinear portion following a spiraled path. The acoustic pathway fluidly couples the microphone assembly with an ear canal of the user when the earpiece is positioned with respect to the ear of the user. Sounds produced by the user travel from the ear canal through the acoustic pathway for detection by the microphone assembly. Also, the hollow elongated member behaves as an acoustic waveguide to amplify a desired frequency and/or attenuate other, less desirable, frequencies of the sounds produced by the user.

Claims

1. An earpiece, comprising:

a microphone assembly; and

an acoustic pathway defined at least in part by a hollow elongated member and configured such that sounds produced by a user travel from an ear canal of the user through the acoustic pathway for detection by the microphone assembly, the hollow elongated member comprising;

a linear portion extending along a longitudinal axis of the earpiece; and

a nonlinear portion following a spiraled path;

wherein the spiraled path extends in a two-dimensional plane and the linear portion is joined to the nonlinear portion at a radially most extended point of the nonlinear portion; and

wherein the hollow elongated member behaves as an acoustic waveguide to modify sounds produced by the user by at least one of;

amplifying a frequency selected for amplification;

or

attenuating a frequency selected for attenuation.

2. The earpiece of claim 1, wherein the two-dimensional plane is transverse the longitudinal axis of the earpiece.

3. The earpiece of claim 1, wherein the spiraled path of the nonlinear portion is at least one of a spiral of Archimedes, a hyperbolic spiral, a logarithmic spiral, or a parabolic spiral.

4. The earpiece of claim 1, further including a connecting portion coupling the nonlinear portion to the microphone, the connecting portion extending in a direction of the longitudinal axis.

5. The earpiece of claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape and area of the hollow elongated member is constant at any point along a length of the hollow elongated member.

6. The earpiece of claim 1, wherein at least part of the microphone assembly and the hollow elongated member are disposed in a housing.

7. The earpiece of claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axis of the linear portion is spaced apart with respect to a central longitudinal axis of the housing.

8. The earpiece of claim 1, wherein the linear portion extends along the longitudinal axis next to a speaker assembly.

9. An earpiece, comprising:

a microphone assembly; and

an acoustic pathway defined at least in part by a hollow elongated member and configured such that sounds produced by a user travel from an ear canal of the user through the acoustic pathway for detection by the microphone assembly, the hollow elongated member comprising;

a linear portion extending along a longitudinal axis of the earpiece; and

a nonlinear portion following a spiraled path;

wherein the spiraled path of the nonlinear portion extends in three-dimensions and the linear portion is joined to the nonlinear portion at a radially most extended point of the nonlinear portion; and

wherein the hollow elongated member behaves as an acoustic waveguide to modify sounds produced by the user by at least one of;

amplifying a frequency selected for amplification;

or

attenuating a frequency selected for attenuation.

10. The earpiece of claim 9, wherein the spiraled path of the nonlinear portion is at least one of a helical shape.

11. The earpiece of claim 9, wherein a speaker assembly is at least partially disposed within the spiraled path.

12. An earpiece, comprising:

a microphone assembly;

a speaker assembly; and

an acoustic pathway defined at least in part by a hollow elongated member and configured such that sounds produced by a user travel from an ear canal of the user through the acoustic pathway for detection by the microphone assembly, the hollow elongated member comprising at least a nonlinear portion following a spiraled path;

wherein the speaker assembly is at least partially disposed within the spiraled path of the nonlinear portion; and

wherein the hollow elongated member behaves as an acoustic waveguide to modify sounds produced by the user by at least one of;

amplifying a frequency selected for amplification;

or

attenuating a frequency selected for attenuation.

13. The earpiece of claim 12, wherein the spiraled path of the nonlinear portion is at least one of a helical shape.

14. The earpiece of claim 12, further including a connecting portion coupling the nonlinear portion to the microphone, the connecting portion extending in a direction of a longitudinal axis of the earpiece.

15. The earpiece of claim 12, wherein the cross-sectional shape and area of the hollow elongated member is constant at any point along a length of the hollow elongated member.

16. The earpiece of claim 12, wherein at least part of the microphone assembly, the speaker, and the hollow elongated member are disposed in a housing.

17. The earpiece of claim 12, wherein

the spiraled path of the nonlinear portion extends in three-dimensions;

and

the hollow elongated member further comprises a linear portion extending along a longitudinal axis of the earpiece.