Earphone with magnetic attachment means for corresponding ear pad

Abstract

The invention relates to an earphone device comprising a speaker housing having a speaker housing side portion and an ear pad having an ear pad side portion, the speaker housing side portion and the ear pad side portion being configured for releasable connection to each other along an end surface of the ear pad side portion and an end surface of the speaker housing side portion, the speaker housing side portion comprising a plurality of first permanent magnets each generating a magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to the end surface of the speaker housing side portion, the ear pad side portion comprising a plurality of second permanent magnets each generating a magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to the end surface of the ear pad side portion, for each pair of a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet, the polarity of the magnetic field of the first permanent magnet being opposite to the polarity of the magnetic field of the second permanent magnet when the speaker housing side portion and the ear pad side portion are aligned with and in contact with each other. The invention further relates to an earphone comprising the earphone device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to the field of headphones and headphone devices, and more specifically to means for ensuring that the correct combination of the headphone speaker housing and the ear pads is always achieved. Background Technology

[0002] In headphones (sometimes referred to as "earphones") comprising separate left and right earphone devices with corresponding ear pads, the acoustic characteristics of the respective earphone devices depend both on the characteristics of the components of the earphone speaker housing (e.g., on the performance of the electroacoustic transducer, also called a "speaker," and the performance of possible acoustic and electronic signal processing devices, such as frequency response equalizers or active noise cancellation devices) and on the acoustic characteristics of the ear pads when attached to the earphone speaker housing. For high-quality sound reproduction via such headphones, it is important to always ensure the correct ear pads and their proper placement on the corresponding earphone speaker housing, and to avoid, for example, the application of a left ear pad on a right earphone speaker housing and vice versa.

[0003] Prior art document US 9,332,337 B2 discloses a headset including headphones and corresponding ear pads. In the region of the headphones facing the ear pads, the headphones are provided with a plurality of permanent magnets, and in the corresponding side of the ear pads, a circumferentially extending annular plate member made of a soft magnetic material is provided, such that the ear pads are held attached to the headphones by magnetic force acting between the magnets and the annular member. It is mentioned that, alternatively, the annular member can also be a permanent magnet. This document does not describe a means for ensuring that the angular orientation of the ear pads relative to the headphones is always correct, and because the embodiments shown in this document use round headphones and similar ear pads or square headphones and similar ear pads, the problem of the angular orientation of the ear pads on the headphones is not solved in the headset described in US 9,332,337 B2. Furthermore, this document does not disclose a means for preventing, for example, the right ear pad from being placed on the left ear pad and the left ear pad from being placed on the right ear pad. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Based on the above background, the object of the present invention is to provide an earphone in which the left ear pad and the right ear pad are attached to the corresponding left earphone speaker housing and the right earphone speaker housing in a non-interchangeable manner.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide an earphone that ensures that the left mark L and the right mark R inside the ear pads (if any) are correctly positioned, thereby ensuring that the user wears the earphone correctly, that is, the left earphone speaker housing and the corresponding ear pad are placed on the user's left ear and the right earphone speaker housing and the corresponding ear pad are placed on the user's right ear.

[0006] Another object of the present invention is to provide an earphone that ensures the correct ear pads are always placed on the correct earphone speaker housings to maintain the correct electroacoustic calibration as originally performed in the factory (by tuning DSP software or otherwise). This is particularly important when the earphone has ANC (Active Noise Cancellation)—where even small differences in the ear pads have a significant impact on the performance of ANC. However, similarly, in the absence of ANC, earphone calibration can be applied to eliminate differences between the left and right sides, in which case the effect of the ear pads cannot be ignored and swapping the left and right ear pads renders the calibration worthless.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide an earphone that ensures the correct orientation of the left and right earpads when the symmetrically shaped earpads are rotated.

[0008] Another object of the present invention is to provide an earphone that ensures the correct and precise positioning of the ear pads on the earphone speaker housing.

[0009] The left and right earpads according to the invention can be manufactured by injection molding using the same mold, and can then be distinguished as left or right solely by the orientation of the magnets mounted in the earpads. This avoids the need for a mechanical distinction between the left and right earpads, which would otherwise be required to prevent the left and right earpads from being mistakenly interchanged. Such a mechanical distinction would result in significant additional costs associated with a second mold.

[0010] In the following text, the term "headphone device" is used for the combination of (1) a headphone speaker housing and (2) ear pads, the headphone speaker housing being the portion of the device including one or more electroacoustic transducers and optional acoustic and electronic signal processing devices, such as frequency shaping filters and / or active noise cancellation devices, and the ear pads being the portion of the device that connects the headphone speaker housing to the surface of the user's head. Furthermore, "headphones" is defined as a device comprising at least one, but typically two, headphone devices, usually a left and a right earphone device.

[0011] The above and other objects and advantages are obtained according to a first aspect of the invention by an earphone device comprising a speaker housing and ear pads, the speaker housing including a speaker housing side portion, and the ear pads including an ear pad side portion, wherein the speaker housing side portion and the ear pad side portion are respectively configured for releasably connecting to each other along an end surface of the ear pad side portion and a corresponding end surface of the speaker housing side portion, wherein:

[0012] - The speaker housing side portion includes a plurality of first permanent magnets disposed on or in a corresponding first position on or in the speaker housing side portion, wherein each corresponding first permanent magnet generates a magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to the end surface of the speaker housing side portion.

[0013] - The ear pad side portion includes a plurality of second permanent magnets disposed on or in a corresponding second position in the ear pad side portion, wherein each corresponding second permanent magnet generates a magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to the end surface of the ear pad side portion.

[0014] - Wherein, each of the first positions in the first position roughly corresponds to one of the second positions in the second position; and

[0015] -In each pair of first permanent magnets and second permanent magnets, when the end surface of the speaker housing side portion of the speaker housing and the end surface of the ear pad side portion of the ear pad are aligned and in contact with each other, the polarity of the magnetic field of the first permanent magnet located in one of the first positions is opposite to the polarity of the magnetic field of the corresponding second permanent magnet located in the corresponding second position in the second position.

[0016] In an embodiment of the first aspect, all magnets located in the ear pad side portion have the same polarity, and all magnets located in the speaker housing side portion have the same polarity opposite to that of the magnets located in the ear pad side portion.

[0017] In the implementation of the first aspect:

[0018] - The polarity of at least one magnet located in the side portion of the ear pad is different from the polarity of the remaining magnets located in the side portion of the ear pad; and

[0019] - The polarity of the magnet located in the side portion of the speaker housing is opposite to that of the corresponding magnet located in the side portion of the ear pad.

[0020] In the implementation of the first aspect:

[0021] - The polarity of at least one magnet located in the side portion of the speaker housing is different from the polarity of the remaining magnets located in the side portion of the speaker housing; and

[0022] - The polarity of the magnet located in the side portion of the ear pad is opposite to that of the corresponding magnet located in the side portion of the speaker housing.

[0023] In a first aspect embodiment, the speaker housing side portion includes four magnets, wherein three of the four magnets have the same polarity, and the fourth magnet has the opposite polarity to the other three magnets; and wherein the earpad side portion includes four magnets located at positions corresponding to the respective magnets of the speaker housing side portion, and wherein the magnets of the earpad side portion each have a polarity opposite to that of their respective corresponding magnets in the speaker housing side portion.

[0024] In an embodiment of the first aspect, an alignment device is provided on the side portion of the ear pad, the alignment device being configured to releasably engage with a corresponding alignment device provided in the side portion of the speaker housing.

[0025] The above and other objects and advantages are obtained by means of an earphone according to a second aspect of the invention, the earphone comprising a first earphone device L and a second earphone device R, the first earphone device L and the second earphone device R being earphone devices according to the first aspect and any embodiment thereof, wherein L and R represent left and right, respectively.

[0026] In the second embodiment, the polarity of the magnet disposed in the first headphone device L is opposite to the polarity of the corresponding magnet disposed in the second headphone device R.

[0027] In the second aspect of the embodiment, when viewed toward the planar end surface of the first headphone device L, the polarity of the magnet disposed in the planar end surface of the speaker housing of the first headphone device L is opposite to the polarity of the corresponding magnet disposed in the planar end surface of the second headphone device R when viewed toward the planar end surface of the second headphone device R.

[0028] In the second aspect of the embodiment, the first headphone device L and the second headphone device R are symmetrically arranged about the axis of symmetry S of the headphones, and the polarity of the magnet in the first headphone device L is opposite to the polarity of the corresponding magnet in the second headphone device R, which is positioned at a mirror position relative to the axis of symmetry S in the second headphone device R.

[0029] In the second embodiment, the polarity of the magnet disposed in the first headphone device L is the same as the polarity of the corresponding magnet disposed in the second headphone device R.

[0030] In the second aspect of the embodiment, the first earphone device L and the second earphone device R are connected to each other by a headband or the like, such that the first earphone device L and the second earphone device R are symmetrically arranged about an axis of symmetry S passing through the earphones. Attached Figure Description

[0031] Other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent after reading the detailed description of the non-limiting exemplary embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0032] Figure 1 (a) A schematic cross-sectional view of an earphone device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown, the earphone device including an earphone speaker housing and ear pads;

[0033] Figure 1 (b) shows the compatibility of headphones with... Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of the second headphone device 17 on the opposite side of the headphone device shown in (a), such that, for example... Figure 1 The headphone device shown in (a) is used as the left headphone device and Figure 1 The headphone device shown in (b) is used as the right headphone device of the headphones;

[0034] Figure 2 The illustrations and simplified diagrams illustrate the principles of embodiments of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3 A top view (a) and a schematic partial cross-sectional view (b) of an embodiment of the ear pad according to the present invention are shown.

[0036] Figure 4 It shows Figure 3 The ear pads shown are viewed from the side facing the headphone speaker housing.

[0037] Figure 5 This shows the view from one side (a). Figure 3 The ear pads shown are illustrated in cross-section, viewed from the side (b) facing the headphone speaker housing. Figure 3 The ear pads shown in the diagram, in this cross-sectional view, reveal magnets;

[0038] Figure 6 The headphone speaker housing is shown as viewed from one side (a) and as shown in cross-section from the side facing the ear pad (b), in which the magnet can be seen.

[0039] Figure 7 A schematic perspective view of an earphone according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown;

[0040] Figure 8 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 A schematic diagram of headphones is shown, illustrating the correct and incorrect positioning of ear pads on the headphone speaker housing using the principles of different embodiments of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0041] The following provides a detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the invention. However, it should be understood that the principles of the invention can be implemented in other ways.

[0042] Reference Figure 1 A schematic cross-sectional view of an earphone device according to the present invention is shown. The earphone device is generally indicated by reference numeral 1 and includes a speaker housing 2 and an earpad 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The earpad 3 includes an earpad body 4 attached to a side portion 5 of the earpad, in which a plurality of permanent magnets 9, 11 are disposed. Figure 1 In the embodiment shown in (a), the polarities of the two magnets 9 and 11 shown in the figures are as indicated, i.e., they have a south pole facing the speaker housing 2. The opposite polarities of the magnets shown can also be used, such as... Figure 1 Magnets 18, 19, 20, and 21 are shown in (b). Therefore, opposing magnets 9, 10 and 11, 12 attract each other, and thus the earpad 3 is releasably attached to the speaker housing 2. The interface between the earpad 3 and the speaker housing 2 is, in the illustrated embodiment, the planar end surface 7 of the earpad 3 and the corresponding planar end surface 8 of the speaker housing 2; however, it should be understood that other configurations of this interface may also be used. An electroacoustic transducer 14 (“speaker”) is provided in the speaker housing 2, which converts an electro-audio input signal into an acoustic output signal and thereby generates a sound field in the channel 16 in the speaker housing 2 and the mating channel 15 in the earpad 3.

[0043] The objective of the invention outlined above is achieved according to the invention through the specific polarity of magnets respectively disposed in the ear pads and speaker housings. This is by... Figure 2 The non-limiting examples shown are illustrative, but it should be emphasized that other distributions, quantities, and specific polarities may also be used, and these other distributions, quantities, and specific polarities will fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

[0044] Figure 2 The diagram shows an ear pad 22 according to an embodiment of the invention, viewed from planar end surface 7, and a speaker housing 23 according to the same embodiment of the invention, viewed from planar end surface 8. Both the ear pad 22 and the speaker housing 23 are perpendicular to their respective x-axis and y-axis (X, Y). C Y ESymmetrically, the ear pad 22 and speaker housing 23 are subdivided into four sections by the x and y axes, each of which includes a magnet 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30, 31, 32, 33. Four permanent magnets 26, 27, 28, 29 are disposed in or behind the end surface 7. The polarity of the magnets is indicated in the figures. Magnets 26, 27, and 28 have their respective south poles (S) pointing outward from the end surface 7. 1c S 2c and S 3c This allows for the assembly of the ear pads and speaker housings in Antarctica S 1c S 2c and S 3c End surface 8 facing the speaker housing. The fourth magnet 29 has opposite polarity, that is, it has a north pole N pointing outward from the end surface 7. c Four magnets 30, 31, 32, and 33 are positioned on the end surface 8 of the speaker housing 23 or behind the end surface 8 of the speaker housing 23 such that the four magnets 30, 31, 32, and 33 correspond to magnets 26, 27, 28, and 29 in the ear pad 22. As can be seen from the accompanying drawings, the polarities of magnets 30, 31, 32, and 33 are opposite to the polarities of magnets 26, 27, 28, and 29, thereby forming attractive magnet pairs 26-33, 27-32, 28-31, and 29-30, and thus, when the ear pad 22 is properly fitted onto the speaker housing 23, the ear pad 22 will be held attached to the speaker housing 23 by the magnetic force of the corresponding magnet pairs. If an attempt is made to fit the speaker housing 23 to the ear pad 22 rotated 180 degrees as indicated by arrow R, the different magnets will be opposite each other, and the polarities of the pairs of magnets 26-31, 27-30, 28-33, and 29-32 will no longer be fully matched (two will match and two will not match), and the corresponding magnetic force will repel the ear pad 22 from its correct position on the speaker housing 23. In this way, according to the principles of the invention, it is ensured that the ear pad 22 is always correctly fitted to the speaker housing 23.

[0045] It should be emphasized that, although Figure 2 The embodiment of the invention shown specifically includes one magnet located in each of the portions defined by the respective x-axis and y-axis, but this is not limiting, and the invention also covers other numbers and / or positions of magnets 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30, 31, 32, 33 located on the respective end surfaces 7 and 8. The basic principle of the invention is that the polarity and position of the magnets are selected such that the polarity and position of the magnets allow only one correct fit of the ear pad 22 on the speaker housing 23. This basic principle of the invention will be explained below. Figure 8 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 Let's take a look back.

[0046] Reference Figure 3 A schematic partial cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the ear pad according to the present invention is shown. Figure 3 (a) shows the ear pad body 4 surrounding the sound hole 15. Figure 3 (b) is along the direction indicated by arrow A. Figure 3 The cross-sectional view taken by line AA in (a) shows the earpad body 4 attached by a suitable attachment device 35 to a circumferential plate member 37 that extends circumferentially around the acoustic hole 15 and is provided with a permanent magnet 36. Above the plate member 37, a protective and sound-permeable barrier 38 is provided. The plate member 37 is also provided with an outwardly extending tap member 39.

[0047] Reference Figure 4 This shows the view from the side facing the speaker housing. Figure 3 The ear pads are shown. Two connector members 39 are disposed on a circumferentially extending plate member 37, and a magnet 36 is disposed behind the plate member 37.

[0048] Reference Figure 5 , showed Figure 3 The ear pads shown. Figure 5 (a) shows a schematic side view of the earpad body 4 and a plate member 37 adjacent to the earpad body 4, the plate member 37 being provided with a magnet. Figure 5 (not shown in (a)). Figure 5 (b) Viewed from the side facing the speaker housing along... Figure 5 (a) is a cross-sectional view taken from line BB. Four magnets 36 used in this embodiment are shown.

[0049] Reference Figure 6 The image shows an embodiment of the speaker housing as viewed from one side (a) and from above (b) along the direction indicated by arrow C. Figure 6 The speaker housing embodiment is observed in a cross-sectional view (viewed from the side facing the ear pad) taken by line CC in (a). The speaker housing includes an upper segment 41 and a portion 42, the upper segment 41 forming a smooth transition with the ear pad, and the portion 42 particularly including the electroacoustic transducer (“speaker”) of the headphone device. Figure 6 In (b), four magnets 43 are shown as being placed in relation to... Figure 5 (b) shows the position corresponding to the magnet 36 in the ear pad. Two inwardly extending alignment connector members 44 are also shown, which can be aligned with, for example... Figure 4 The corresponding alignment device 39 of the ear pad shown engages.

[0050] Reference Figure 7 A schematic perspective view of an earphone 45 according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. The earphone 45 includes a left earphone device L having a left speaker housing 49 and a corresponding left ear pad 50, and a right earphone device R having a right speaker housing 47 and a right ear pad 48. The left earphone device L and the right earphone device R are connected by a headband 46.

[0051] Reference Figure 8 , Figure 9 and Figure 10 The advantageous effects of the headphone device and headphones according to the present invention are described. The accompanying drawings illustrate the effects of different magnet configurations in both the headphone device and the headphones as described in the present invention.

[0052] Figure 8 The magnet configuration shown does not prevent the corresponding left and right ear pads from being misaligned on the corresponding speaker housings, nor does it prevent the left and right ear pads from being interchanged.

[0053] Figure 9 A magnet configuration is shown that prevents the left and right earpads from being interchanged, but does not prevent misalignment of the earpads. Figure 9 In the middle, all four magnets 51, 52, 53, and 54 in the left (L) speaker housing have the same polarity, and this polarity is opposite to that of the corresponding magnets 55, 56, 57, and 58 in the right (R) speaker housing.

[0054] Figure 10 A magnet configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. (Refer to...) Figure 10 (a) This configuration ensures that the ear pads I and II are correctly positioned and oriented on the respective speaker housings III and IV. It should be understood that... Figure 10 The opposite polarity of all the magnets shown constitutes an embodiment of the invention. Figure 10 In the left (L) speaker housing, one of the four magnets 51, 52, 53, and 54 (magnet 52) ​​has a polarity opposite to the other three magnets 51, 53, and 54, and the polarities of magnets 51, 52, 53, and 54 are opposite to the polarities of the corresponding magnets 55, 56, 57, and 58 in the right (R) speaker housing. Figure 10 (This also applies to) Figure 8 and Figure 9 (Although this is not actually shown in these figures), the headphones are defined by an axis of symmetry S, with the first headphone device (L) and the second headphone device (R) positioned about this axis of symmetry S.

[0055] Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with the above embodiments, it should be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A headset, the headset (45) comprising a left headset device and a right headset device and a left ear pad and a right ear pad, wherein, The left earphone device and the right earphone device are interconnected by a headband (46); wherein the left earphone device comprises a left speaker housing (III) comprising a speaker housing side portion in which a plurality of magnets are arranged; wherein the right earphone device comprises a right speaker housing (IV) comprising a speaker housing side portion in which a plurality of magnets are arranged, characterized in that the polarity of the magnets of the right earphone device is opposite to the polarity of the corresponding magnets in the speaker housing side portion of the left earphone device, the left ear pad and the right ear pad comprise an ear pad side portion (5) which is provided with magnets at positions corresponding to the magnets in the left speaker housing side portion of the left earphone device and the magnets in the right speaker housing side portion of the right earphone device, respectively, wherein the magnets in the ear pad side portion (5) have a polarity opposite to the corresponding magnets in the corresponding speaker housing side portion, and at least one of the magnets arranged in the left earphone device has a polarity opposite to the other magnets arranged in the left earphone device, and / or at least one of the magnets arranged in the right earphone device has a polarity opposite to the other magnets arranged in the right earphone device.

2. A headphone device comprising a speaker housing (2) comprising a speaker housing side portion and an ear cushion (3) comprising an ear cushion side portion (5), wherein The speaker housing side portion and the ear pad side portion (5) are respectively configured for releasable connection to each other along an end surface of the ear pad side portion (5) and a corresponding end surface of the speaker housing side portion, wherein: - the speaker housing side portion comprises a plurality of first permanent magnets arranged at respective first positions on or in the speaker housing side portion, wherein each respective first permanent magnet generates a magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to the end surface of the speaker housing side portion; - the ear pad side portion (5) comprises a plurality of second permanent magnets arranged at respective second positions on or in the ear pad side portion (5), wherein each respective second permanent magnet generates a magnetic field in a direction substantially perpendicular to the end surface of the ear pad side portion (5); - wherein each of the first positions substantially corresponds to one of the second positions, respectively; and - wherein, for each pair of first and second permanent magnets, the polarity of the magnetic field of a first permanent magnet arranged at one of the first positions is opposite to the polarity of the magnetic field of a corresponding second permanent magnet arranged at the corresponding one of the second positions when the end surface of the speaker housing side portion of the speaker housing (2) and the end surface of the ear pad side portion (5) of the ear pad (3) are aligned with and in contact with each other, characterized in that - the polarity of at least one magnet located in the ear cushion side portion (5) is different from the polarity of the remaining magnets located in the ear cushion side portion (5), and - the polarity of the magnets located in the speaker housing side portion is opposite to the polarity of the corresponding magnets located in the ear cushion side portion (5).

3. The earphone device of claim 2, wherein, The speaker housing side portion comprises four magnets, wherein the polarity of three of the four magnets is the same, while the polarity of the fourth magnet is opposite to the polarity of the three magnets, and wherein the ear cushion side portion (5) comprises four magnets located in positions corresponding to the respective magnets of the speaker housing side portion, and wherein the magnets of the ear cushion side portion (5) have a polarity opposite to the polarity of the respective corresponding magnets located in the speaker housing side portion, respectively.

4. The earphone device of claim 2 or 3, wherein, The ear cushion side portion (5) is provided with alignment means, which alignment means (39) are configured for releasable engagement with corresponding alignment means provided in the speaker housing side portion.

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