Open Headphones

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to provide an open-type earphone which does not bring a sense of pressure to the ear, makes it easy to hear the surrounding environmental sound, and has high sound insulation and does not leak sound. The present invention provides an open-type earphone. The open-type earphone comprises: an earphone body 2, which has at least a speaker 5 built therein; and an acoustic conduit 3, which extends obliquely from the earphone body 2 to be inserted into the external auditory canal 11 of the ear. The acoustic conduit 3 is formed with a first communication path 6 that connects the speaker 5 with the external auditory canal 11 of the ear, and a second communication path 7 that connects the atmosphere with the external auditory canal 11 of the ear.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an open earphone capable of receiving ambient sound. Background Art

[0002] Normally, the vibrations of sound transmitted through the air are transmitted to the eardrum in the ear, and the vibrations of the eardrum are transmitted to the cochlea through the three ossicles in the eardrum. The cochlea has lymph fluid, and the vibrations of this lymph fluid are converted into electrical signals and transmitted to the auditory nerve, and the brain recognizes the electrical signals as sound.

[0003] By the way, headphones worn on the user's ears reproduce sounds by applying sound signals to speakers arranged close to the ears, and such headphones can be roughly divided into two types: in-ear type and earplug type.

[0004] In-ear headphones (for example, see Patent Document 1) are used by hanging on the part called the concha at the entrance of the ear, and have the advantages of no pressure and easy to hear the surrounding environment. In contrast, earbud headphones (for example, see Patent Document 2) are used by putting earbud-type earpieces in the ears, and therefore have the advantages of high sound insulation and no sound leakage.

[0005] Prior art literature

[0006] Patent Literature

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-222492

[0008] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-145962 Summary of the invention

[0009] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0010] However, in-ear headphones have the disadvantages of low sound insulation and easy sound leakage. In contrast, earbud headphones have the disadvantages of strong pressure on the ears and difficulty in hearing surrounding ambient sounds because the earpieces must be placed deep in the ears.

[0011] The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide an open earphone that can be worn on the ear in a close-fitting state without feeling of pressure and firmly, while making it easy to hear the surrounding environmental sounds, and having high sound insulation and no sound leakage.

[0012] Means of solving the problem

[0013] The present invention to achieve the above-mentioned object is an open earphone, characterized by comprising: an earphone body having at least a built-in speaker; and an acoustic conduit extending obliquely from the earphone body to be inserted into the external auditory canal of the ear at least deeper than the tragus. The acoustic conduit is mounted as an earring with one end abutting against the tragus of the ear and the other end abutting against the inner wall of the concha, and the acoustic conduit is formed with a first communication path for connecting the speaker with the external auditory canal of the ear and a second communication path for connecting the atmosphere with the external auditory canal of the ear.

[0014] In addition, the lower end of the first communication path opens to the external auditory canal, the lower end of the second communication path opens to the external auditory canal, and the second communication path and the first communication path are not directly connected in the acoustic duct.

[0015] In addition, the inclination angle of the sound duct relative to the earphone body is 50° to 70°.

[0016] In addition, the earrings are formed by connecting two circular rings into one, and are made of elastically deformable flexible silicone or elastomer.

[0017] Furthermore, the second communication path is formed on the front side of the lower split piece of the acoustic duct.

[0018] Effects of the Invention

[0019] According to the present invention, since the first connecting path for connecting the speaker to the external auditory canal of the ear and the second connecting path for connecting the atmosphere to the external auditory canal of the ear are formed in the sound duct, the surrounding environmental sound is introduced into the external auditory canal of the user's ear through the second connecting path. Therefore, the user can hear the speaker sound introduced into the external auditory canal through the first connecting path and the surrounding environmental sound introduced into the external auditory canal through the second connecting path at the same time. Since the speaker sound escapes into the atmosphere through the first connecting path and further through the second connecting path, its path becomes longer, which can prevent the speaker sound from leaking to the outside (sound leakage). Furthermore, even in a place with loud ambient sound, the speaker sound can be clearly heard, and touch noise and the user's own voice cannot be heard.

[0020] In addition, the open-type earphones are those in which a sound tube is inserted into the external auditory canal of the user's ear at least deeper than the tragus, and an earring is installed on the sound tube, one end of which abuts against the tragus of the ear and the other end abuts against the inner wall of the concha. Therefore, the earring and the sound tube are clamped between the tragus and the concha of the ear, so that the open-type earphones can be worn firmly on the user's ear in a fitting state without any sense of pressure.

[0021] Therefore, the open earphones according to the present invention can be worn on the user's ears in a close-fitting state without any sense of pressure and firmly, and can enjoy the advantages of both earphones while eliminating their respective disadvantages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a stereoscopic view of the open-type earphone of the present invention viewed from obliquely above;

[0023] Figure 2 is a stereoscopic view of the open-type earphone of the present invention viewed from obliquely below;

[0024] Figure 3 is a side view of an open-type earphone of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the open-type earphone of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the open-type earphone of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a user's ear portion showing a usage state of the open-type earphone of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 7 This is a perspective view of an open-type earphone according to another embodiment of the present invention as viewed diagonally from below. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 and Figure 3 The arrow directions shown are the “front-rear” direction and the “up-down” direction, respectively.

[0030] The open earphone 1 of this embodiment comprises: an earphone body 2 having an oblong shape in a plan view; a cylindrical sound conduit 3 extending obliquely downward from the earphone body 2; and a sound conduit 3 extending forward from the sound conduit 3 ( Figure 1 to Figure 6 4 extending from the left side of the earring.

[0031] The earphone body 2 is a housing formed by joining an upper shell 2A and a lower shell 2B together, and an upper duct member 3A constituting a part of the sound duct 3 is inclined downward and rearward at a predetermined angle θ (see Figure 3 ) in an integral manner. Here, the acoustic duct 3 is divided into two parts, upper and lower, and is composed of the upper duct member 3A formed integrally with the lower shell 2B, and the cylindrical lower duct member 3B detachable from the upper duct member 3A. The detachable structure of the upper duct member 3A and the lower duct member 3B is described below.

[0032] That is, Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 , an engagement groove 3a is formed on the outer periphery of the lower end of the upper conduit member 3A over the entire circumference, and an annular engagement protrusion 3b is formed below (at the lower end) the engagement groove 3a of the upper conduit member 3A. In addition, an engagement groove 3c is formed on the inner periphery of the upper end of the lower conduit member 3B over the entire circumference, and an annular engagement protrusion 3d is formed on the inner periphery of the upper end of the lower conduit member 3B. Therefore, the outer periphery of the lower end of the upper conduit member 3A is embedded in the inner periphery of the upper end of the lower conduit member 3B from above, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown, the upper conduit member 3A and the lower conduit member 3B are integrally connected by fitting the fitting protrusion 3b of the upper conduit member 3A into the fitting groove 3c of the lower conduit member 3B, and fitting the fitting protrusion 3d of the lower conduit member 3B into the fitting groove 3a of the upper conduit member 3A.

[0033] Here, in this embodiment, the inclination angle θ of the acoustic duct 3 relative to the earphone body 2 is set to θ=60°, but the inclination angle θ should be set to 60°±10° (50°~70°). In addition, in this embodiment, the earphone body 2 (upper shell 2A and lower shell 2B) and the acoustic duct 3 are made of hard resin such as high-rigidity ABS resin.

[0034] Incidentally, although the headphone body 2 houses a substrate on which various electronic components are mounted in addition to the speaker 5, Figure 4 As shown, the speaker 5 is arranged at a position not in contact with the user's ear, just above the sound conduit 3 in the earphone body 2. By arranging the speaker 5 at such a position, even if the caliber of the speaker 5 is made very large in order to make the sound quality of the speaker 5 good, the speaker 5 will not become an obstacle to the ear. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the speaker 5 is horizontally accommodated in the earphone body 2, but the speaker 5 can also be arranged and accommodated vertically.

[0035] The earring 4 extends forward approximately horizontally from the front of the lower conduit member 3B of the sound duct 3, but the earring 4 is formed by connecting two circular rings 4A and 4B into one, and is detachably mounted on the earphone body 2 together with the lower conduit member 3B of the sound duct 3. It should be noted that the earring 4 is made of elastically deformable flexible silicone or elastomer.

[0036] In the open earphone 1 of this embodiment, Figure 4 and Figure 6 As shown, the axial center of the sound conduit 3 is formed such that when the user wears the open earphone 1 on the ear, the speaker 5 built into the earphone body 2 is in contact with the external auditory canal 11 of the ear (see FIG. Figure 6) is connected to the first communication passage 6 in the shape of a circular hole. That is, the upper end of the first communication passage 6 opens into the earphone body 2, and the lower end of the first communication passage 6 opens to the external auditory canal 11 of the ear. In addition, on the front side ( Figure 4 The left side of the ear is provided with a second communication path 7 for communicating the atmosphere with the external auditory canal 11 of the ear. The second communication path 7 is as shown in FIG. Figure 2 and Figure 5 As shown, its upper end is open to the atmosphere through a circular hole 7a formed at the upper end of the lower duct member 3B, and its lower end is open to the external auditory canal 11 of the ear through a circular hole 7b formed on the bottom surface of the lower duct member 3B.

[0037] It should be noted that the above describes the structure of the open earphone 1 worn on one ear (left or right) of the user, but the structure of the open earphone 1 worn on the other ear (right or left) is exactly the same as that of the above one, so its illustration and description are omitted.

[0038] Here, in Figure 6 , the open earphone 1 of this embodiment is worn on the ear of the user, wherein the open earphone 1 is worn in a direction in which the end surface of the ear ring 4 (ring 4A) abuts against the tragus (ear lobe) 12 of the ear. That is, the open earphone 1 is worn on the ear of the user by inserting the sound tube 3 into the external auditory canal 11 of the ear, and at this time, the ear ring 4 abuts against the tragus 12 of the ear. In this way, the ear ring 4 is pressed by the tragus 12, so that the ear ring 4 is pressed against the inner wall 13 of the concha, and the ring 4B is elastically deformed and bent into an arc shape. Therefore, the ear ring 4 and the sound tube 3 are clamped between the tragus 12 of the ear and the inner wall 13 of the concha, and the open earphone 1 is firmly worn on the ear of the user in a fitted state.

[0039] As described above, when the open earphones 1 are fitted to the left and right ears of the user, the sound (speaker sound) emitted from the speaker 5 is as follows: Figure 6 As shown by the arrow a in the middle, the sound passes through the first communication path 6 formed in the center of the sound tube 3 and is transmitted to the cochlea through the eardrum. The vibration of the lymph fluid in the cochlea is converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to the auditory nerve. The brain recognizes this electrical signal as sound. Figure 6 As shown by the arrow b, the surrounding environmental sound is transmitted to the cochlea through the second connecting path 7 formed in the sound tube 3 and the eardrum. The vibration of the lymph fluid in the cochlea is converted into an electrical signal and transmitted to the auditory nerve at the same time. The brain recognizes this electrical signal as sound.

[0040] As described above, in the open earphone 1 of the present embodiment, the acoustic duct 3 is formed with the first communication path 6 that connects the speaker 5 with the external auditory canal 11 of the ear, and the second communication path 7 that connects the atmosphere with the external auditory canal 11 of the ear, so that the surrounding environmental sound is introduced into the external auditory canal 11 of the user's ear through the second communication path 7. Therefore, the user can hear the speaker sound introduced into the external auditory canal through the first communication path 6 and the surrounding environmental sound introduced into the external auditory canal 11 through the second communication path 7 at the same time. Thus, since the speaker sound passes through the first communication path 6 and further escapes into the atmosphere through the second communication path 7, its path becomes longer, and the speaker sound can be prevented from leaking to the outside (sound leakage). Furthermore, even in a place where the ambient sound is loud, the speaker sound can be clearly heard, and touch noise and the user's own voice cannot be heard.

[0041] In addition, the open earphone 1 of this embodiment is worn by inserting the sound tube 3 into the external auditory canal of the user's ear, and is firmly worn on the user's ear through the earring 4, so the sound tube 3 does not press the ear, and can give the user a comfortable wearing feeling. In this embodiment, the lower tube member 3B of the sound tube 3 is formed integrally with the earring 4, and is detachably configured relative to the upper tube member 3A (earphone body 2), so that the earring 4 can be easily replaced with an earring of a size and shape suitable for the user's concha and external auditory canal 11. It should be noted that the earring 4 can also be configured in a single form, and the single earring 4 can be detachably installed on the sound tube 3.

[0042] Therefore, according to the open earphone 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to eliminate the respective disadvantages of the in-ear earphone and the earbud earphone while enjoying the advantages of both earphones.

[0043] Incidentally, in the above embodiment, the second communication path 7 is formed inside the side wall of the acoustic duct 3 (down duct member 3B), but Figure 7 As shown, the second passage may be formed by a linear groove 8 formed in the longitudinal direction on a part of the outer circumference of the acoustic duct 3 .

[0044] Of course, the application of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical ideas described in the claims, the specification, and the drawings.

[0045] Explanation of symbols

[0046] 1: open earphones, 2: earphone body, 2A: upper shell, 2B: lower shell,

[0047] 3: acoustic duct, 3A: upper duct member of the acoustic duct, 3B: lower duct member of the acoustic duct, 3a: fitting groove of the upper duct member, 3b: fitting convex portion of the upper duct member,

[0048] 3c: fitting groove of the downpipe member, 3d: fitting convex portion of the downpipe member, 4: earrings,

[0049] 4A, 4B: ring, 5: speaker, 6: first connecting path, 7: second connecting path,

[0050] 7a, 7b: round hole of the second communication path, 8: groove (second communication path), 11: external auditory canal,

[0051] 12: tragus, 13: inner wall of concha.

Claims

1. An open-type headphone, characterized in that: have: an earphone body having at least a built-in speaker; and The sound conduit extends obliquely from the earphone body to be inserted into the external auditory canal of the ear at least deeper than the tragus, wherein The acoustic conduit is divided into an upper divided piece formed integrally with the earphone body and a lower divided piece detachable from the upper divided piece. An earring is mounted on the lower split piece of the sound duct, one end of the earring abuts against the tragus of the ear, and the other end abuts against the inner wall of the concha, The acoustic conduit is provided with a first communication path for connecting the speaker to the external auditory canal of the ear and a second communication path for connecting the atmosphere to the external auditory canal of the ear. The lower end of the first communication passage opens to the external auditory canal, the lower end of the second communication passage opens to the external auditory canal, and the second communication passage is not directly connected to the first communication passage in the acoustic duct.

2. The open-ear headphone according to claim 1, wherein: The inclination angle of the sound duct relative to the earphone body is 50° to 70°.

3. The open-ear headphone according to claim 1, wherein: The earrings are formed by connecting two circular rings into one, and are made of elastically deformable flexible silicone or elastomer.

4. The open-ear headphone according to claim 1, wherein: The second communication path is formed on the front side of the lower split piece of the acoustic duct.

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