Earphone device

Abstract

An earphone device comprises an inner casing enclosing one or more miniature drive units, and a movable cap or outer casing that moves relative to the inner casing. The inner casing has an extension member, such as a hollow post, terminating in an acoustic output port. A compressible foam bulb at least partially surrounds the extension member, and is decompressed and compressed by actuation of an adjustable member. The adjustable member may take the form, for example, of a pivoting lever, a helical cam, or a push-rod mechanism, among other things. A flange may be disposed around the periphery of the movable cap, in order to provide a seal surrounding the ear canal region. The compressible material may be gripped by the hollow extension member, and abut the movable cap or flange. Through actuation of the adjustable member, the compressible material may be decompressed and thus elongated for insertion into the wearer's ear, and may be compressed and thus widened or expanded to form an adequate seal with the wearer's ear canal region.

Description

[0001] Related application information [0002] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application No. 60 / 984,367, filed October 31, 2007, which is incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth herein. technical field [0003] The field of the invention relates to earphone devices for sound reproduction. Background technique [0004] The advent of MP3 players has led to a major increase in earbud-style headphones for listening to music. Conventional earbud earphones are of two general types: (i) the type that simply remains on the outer ear close to the ear canal; and (ii) the type that achieves some form of contact with the ear canal in an attempt to form an acoustic seal. [0005] The former type has no means of sealing the ear and, among other things, suffers from poor bass response, little acoustic isolation and an unsafe fit in the ear. [0006] The latter type (often referred to as an insert) creates a seal against the ear canal by protruding ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

This type of earplug typically uses a moving coil transducer with a larger diaphragm than a balanced armature device, but still requires a good seal for bass frequency reproduction

The tip has the same issues as the multiple cap approach, but it's not designed to fit as far into the ear and suffers from the same issues as poor seal and poor isolation, exacerbated by shallow insertion

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