2734results about "Earpiece/earphone manufacture/assembly" patented technology

A wearable wireless audio device includes a support, an electronics circuit, and a speaker. The support includes a first ear stem and an orbital, and is configured to support at least one lens in a wearer's field of view. The electronics circuit is supported by the support and is configured to receive at least one digital audio file and generate an audio signal indicative of the at least one digital audio file. The speaker is supported by the support, and is directed toward at least one of the wearer's ears. The speaker is configured to convert the audio signal into sound. The speaker has a speaker face, and the speaker is configured to rotate from a first position in which the speaker face is substantially parallel to a yz-plane to a second position in which the speaker is inclined at an angle with respect to the yz-plane. The speaker is coupled to the support with a speaker pivot, and is configured to rotate about the speaker pivot while maintaining the speaker face substantially parallel to a yz-plane. The speaker is configured to move along an axis substantially parallel to a z-axis with respect to the support.

Detachable wearable electronic eyeglasses and head mounted gear with a plurality of electronic functions and interchangeable electronic function, and a wearable computer with optimal weight distribution and stretchable arms.

A hearing-aid device and a method for transmitting sound through bone conduction are disclosed. The hearing-aid device comprises a piezoelectric-type actuator, housing and connector. The piezoelectric actuator is preferably a circular flextensional-type actuator mounted along its peripheral edge in a specifically designed circular structure of the housing. During operation, the bone-conduction transducer is placed against the mastoid area behind the ear of the patient. When the device is energized with an alternating electrical voltage, it flexes back and forth like a circular membrane sustained along its periphery and thus, vibrates as a consequence of the inverse piezoelectric effect. Due to the specific and unique designs proposed, these vibrations are directly transferred trough the human skin to the bone structure (the skull) and provide a means for the sound to be transmitted for patients with hearing malfunctions. The housing acts as a holder for the actuators, as a pre-stress application platform, and as a mass which tailors the frequency spectrum of the device. The apparatus exhibits a performance with a very flat response in the frequency spectrum 200 Hz to 10 kHz, which is a greater spectrum range than any other prior art devices disclosed for bone-conduction transduction which are typically limited to less than 4 kHz.

An earpiece auditory device includes a behind-the-ear (BTE) component, which includes processing circuitry. In an embodiment, the device also includes a completely-in-canal (CIC) component, shaped to fit into the ear canal of the user such that it touches the bony portion of the ear canal. In some embodiments, the CIC component includes either a universal fit or a custom fit ear mold. The custom fit ear mold can be fabricated using a rapid prototyping technology, in which the contours of the user's ear canal are scanned, and the scan data is used either directly or indirectly to replicate the ear canal contours of that user into the custom fit ear mold. In some embodiments, the ear mold is detachably interconnected with a speaker module, preferably using either an intermediate sleeve or a detachable locking pin assembly. In another embodiment, the speaker module is permanently encapsulated within the ear mold.

A headphone has a headband and two earpieces each connected to the headband so as to be pivotable relative thereto. When assuming a Cartesian coordinate system having a Z plane that is a symmetry plane of the headphone, having a Y plane that is positioned perpendicularly to the Z plane and extends through a center of the headband, and having an X plane that is positioned perpendicularly to the Z and Y planes at any desired height, a pivot axis is provided between the headband and the earpiece, respectively, wherein the pivot axis is positioned at an angle of at least 10° relative to the X, Y, and Z planes, respectively.

A detachable adjustable electronics module may be removably or permanently connected to eyewear. The module may include electronics for processing audio and / or video input and / or output signals. The module may be provided with an adjustable arm, for adjustably carrying a speaker. The module and / or the speaker may be adjusted relative to the wearer in any of the anterior-posterior direction, the inferior-superior direction and laterally. Rotation adjustments may also be accomplished. Eyewear may be provided with only a single module, on a single side, or with two modules, one on each side, such as to provide stereo audio or dual mono sound.

According to the first aspect of the invention, a hearing instrument with at least one microphone and signal processing comprises at least two receivers having a different frequency response. At least a first one of the receivers is placed outside the ear canal, for example in a behind-the-ear component. According to the second aspect of the invention, a hearing instrument comprising a behind-the-ear component and an external component for being placed in the user's ear canal or in the user's ear as well as a connection link between the behind-the-ear component and the external component is provided, where the connection link is reversibly pluggable to the behind-the-ear component and / or the in-the-ear-canal component and has a length that is reversibly adjustable. The hearing instrument also comprises fixation means for reversibly fixing the adjusted length of the connection link. A hearing instrument according to the third aspect comprises a fixation means separate from the in-the-ear-canal component. The fixation means may be positioned in the ear canal and rest therein. The in-the-ear-canal component may be connected to the fixation means and detached therefrom when the same is already in the ear canal. A hearing instrument according to the fourth aspect of the invention comprises an in-the-ear-canal component to be placed in a user's ear canal and fixation means for fixing it in the ear canal. The fixation means comprise an outer shell which is shaped to fit (i.e. custom shaped to fit the specific user's ear geometry) in the user's ear canal and a mounting structure for holding the in-the-ear-canal component. The outer shell is preferably resilient, i.e. has an elasticity allowing temporal deformation.

Detachable wearable electronic eyeglasses and head mounted gear with a plurality of electronic functions and interchangeable electronic function, and a wearable computer with optimal weight distribution and stretchable arms.

An ear mounted earphone includes a speaker housing for positioning a speaker at the entrance to the auditory canal of an ear of a user. An elongate boom extends from the speaker housing and through a sleeve at one end of an earpiece so that the boom may be moved longitudinally and rotationally within the sleeve for adjustment purposes and will be frictionally held in adjusted position by the sleeve during use. A microphone arm with microphone may be rotatably mounted on the speaker housing to provide a microphone when the earphones are used with a communication system. The rotatability of the microphone arm allowing the same earphone and microphone arm to be adjusted for use with either the right or left ear of a user. An earpiece may be conveniently integrally molded as a single piece with a slit formed therein intermediate its length so the wire to the speaker and microphone can be positioned within the earpiece. The speaker may be waterproofed by a thin waterproof material such as mylar.

Adapters for use with sound devices and methods for making and using the same. In some embodiments, an example adapter may include an adapter body having a first side, a port or projection extending from the first side, and a second side. The second side is generally configured to be attachable to a sound device such as an earbud or earbud-type of headphone. The projection may include a sleeve attached thereto. The projection and sleeve are generally configured to at least in part extend into the ear canal of a user during use.

Headset connector systems and headset engaging connector systems are provided. Headset connector systems can include two or more headset connector contact regions. Headset engaging connector systems can include two or more headset engaging contact regions to provide at least one of power and data. The headset connector system or the headset engaging connector system can include switching circuitry electrically coupled to the respective contact regions. The switching circuitry can be operative to determine an interface orientation between the headset connector contact regions and the headset engaging contact regions. The switching circuitry can also be operative to selectively route received signals based on the determined interface orientation. At least a portion of the headset connector system or the headset engaging connector system can be magnetically attractive.

A weather resistant sound attenuating communications headset of modular construction includes two ear cup modules, a microphone boom module, a head band module, a headband cable module, and a termination cable module. The modular construction allows easy replacement of modules as well as selected components of the modules under field conditions without the need for tools. Replaceable water resistant thin film membranes are employed to provide weather protection as well as hygienic protection for the microphone, speaker and amplification electronics. The thin film membranes which cover areas which come into intimate contact with the wearer are easily replaceable under field conditions. Thus a headset that is shared by more than one user can be hygienically cleansed by simple replacement of the microphone and ear cup membranes.

A set of adjustable and convertible headphones includes a headband, an adjustment member, and an earpiece. The adjustment member is connected to the headband by a hinge; earpiece has a channel receiving the adjustment member and is slidably connected to the adjustment member. Rotation of the adjustment member with respect to the headband is spring-loaded in only one direction. The adjustment member and the earpiece in combination include a detent mechanism for resisting sliding movement of the earpiece with respect to the adjustment member. The adjustment member may be completely removed from the channel, thereby disconnecting the earpiece from the headband. The earpiece may then be replaced by another ear covering (e.g., an earmuff, an ear protector, etc.) as desired. The replacement ear covering may include an audio speaker, for example an audio / earmuff combination earpiece.

A wireless headset is described that communicates with a base and is secured to a user's ear. The headset has an elongated casing, a speaker, a microphone and a transceiver. A battery pack extends from the second end of the elongating casing generally parallel to the speaker where the battery pack is designed to be retractably engaged against the user's ear to secure the headset.

An object of the invention resides in the provision of a bone conduction headset, which is inconspicuous in appearance during wearing thereof, adapted for use in avoiding absorbing nearby people's attention to the headset thus worn, easy to wear and take off in use, and comprises: a band running around a back part of the user's head; a fastening portion formed in each of opposite end portions of the band; a bone conduction speaker provided with a knob which is engaged with the fastening portion; and, an ear engagement portion, which runs over the bone conduction speaker during wearing of the headset to reach and engage with the user's ear. An extension of either the fastening portion in the band or a casing of the bone conduction speaker may be formed into the ear engagement portion.

A method of optimizing the audio performance of an earpiece and the resultant device are provided. The disclosed earpiece combines at least two drivers within a single earpiece. If a pair of drivers is used, each driver has a discrete sound delivery tube. If more than two drivers are used, preferably the outputs from the two lower frequency drivers are merged into a single sound delivery tube while the output from the third driver is maintained in a separate, discrete sound tube. To compensate for the inherent phase shift of the earpiece the lengths of the sound delivery tubes, and thus driver offset, are regulated. Further audio performance optimization can be achieved through an iterative process of measuring the performance of the earpiece and making further, minor adjustments to the sound delivery tube lengths. The sound delivery tubes can include transition regions. The earpiece is configured to use removable / replaceable eartips. Acoustic filters can be interposed between one or both driver outputs and the earpiece output.

A headset which includes a metal or metallic housing to which various accessory components can be attached. These components can include an ear loop, a necklace for the holding of the headset while not being worn on the ear, an external mount, and other components. The components include a magnet which facilitates mounting to the headset. The components are not restricted to a particular attach point, which enhances the ability of the user to adjust the geometry for better fit.

A novel headphone system includes a first speaker assembly, a second speaker assembly, and an interactive visual display system. The interactive visual display system includes a display operative to output visual contents according to interaction with a user. In a more particular embodiment, the headphone system includes an external device interface that enables a user to interact with the contents displayed from the screen via an external device or via the Internet. In another embodiment, the interactive visual display system is removable from the rest of the headphone system and can optionally be installed in another compatible non-headphone device.

A wearable audio device in the form of eyeglasses speaker mounts supported by the frames of the eyeglass. The speaker mounts are constructed so as to be translatable along the ear stems of the eyeglass. This allows a wearer to move the speakers without changing the shape of the speaker mount, which can occur where the speaker mounts are made from some flexible materials.

A system, method and wireless earpieces for managing sharing performed by one or more wireless earpieces. User input is received to share data acquired by the one or more wireless earpieces. A determination is made whether a connection is established between the one or more wireless earpieces and a wireless device. The data is shared between the one or more wireless earpieces and the wireless device based on the user input and in response to the connection being established between the one or more wireless earpieces and the wireless device.

A hearing device (FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3) that simultaneously generates both air and bone conduction sounds. The vibrator (6) placed on mastoid bone can effectively produce enhanced bass sound effects.This hearing device can be used for an hearing impaired person.

A single chamber headphone apparatus and earcup design is provided which enhances wearer comfort, reduces headphone weight, facilitates ease of use, maintenance and operation by providing an improved internal chamber and battery cap configuration. Sound quality is improved by eliminating acoustic problems associated with two-chamber headset designs. A volume balance control is also provided.

A headset device that includes an earbud housing, a primary housing, a threaded neck, an earbud screw, and a primary housing screw is provided. The earbud housing can include an earbud through-hole and a first neck engaging surface. The primary housing can include a housing through-hole and a second neck engaging surface. The threaded neck can include first and second neck surfaces that can mate, respectively to the first and second neck engaging surface. The earbud screw can fit through the earbud through-hole and can interlock with the threaded neck to fix the earbud housing to the threaded neck. The primary housing screw can fit through the housing through-hole and can interlock with the threaded neck to fix the primary housing to the threaded neck. The threaded neck can include a through-hole for enabling circuitry disposed in the earbud housing to electrically couple to circuitry disposed in the primary housing.