Circumaural or supra-aural earpiece of a headphone and method of assembly thereof

A hybrid fixing system with deformable lugs and screws addresses acoustic leaks and environmental concerns in loudspeaker attachment, enhancing assembly efficiency and repairability in audio headsets.

EP4416934B1Active Publication Date: 2025-08-13FOCAL JMLAB(SA)
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Patent Information

Application Number
EP2022797814
Authority / Receiving Office
EP · EP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2022-06-07
Filing Date
2022-10-04
Publication Date
2025-08-13
Estimated Expiration
2042-10-04

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing methods for fixing loudspeakers to the front wall of audio headsets, such as headphones, often involve harmful glues or screws that can cause acoustic leaks, environmental harm, and complicate repairability.

Method used

A hybrid fixing system using deformable lugs and screws to removably attach the loudspeaker to the front wall, ensuring acoustic seals without glue, allowing for easier assembly and disassembly, and protecting the magnetic motor from screw attraction.

Benefits of technology

The system effectively seals acoustic zones, is environmentally friendly, simplifies assembly, and enhances repairability by using a hybrid fixing method that reduces acoustic leaks and protects the magnetic motor.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

Earpiece of an audio headset comprising a front wall (20), and comprising a loudspeaker (40), equipped with a bowl (10), and a cap (30) that are fixed to the front wall (20). The loudspeaker (40) and the cap (30) are fixed removably on the front wall (20) by the reversible cooperation of mechanical means located on the cap (30) and on the bowl (20), with corresponding mechanical means located on the front wall (20). The mechanical means of the bowl (10) comprise at least one protuberance (15) intended to cooperate with a deformable lug (25) of the front wall (20), and the mechanical means of the cap (30) comprise receiving sites (31, 32, 33) for screws (34, 35, 37) for fixing the cap (30) on the front wall (20), the cap pressing on the loudspeaker (40) so as to ensure that the bowl bears against the front wall (20).
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Description

DOMAINE TECHNIQUE

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of audio headsets whose earpieces include at least one loudspeaker.

[0002] In particular, the invention relates to a circumaural or supra-aural earpiece of an audio headset. The invention also relates to the method of mounting the earpiece.

[0003] The invention has multiple applications, particularly for passive or active noise reduction headphones. ETAT DE LA TECHNIQUE

[0004] Headphones have experienced significant growth in recent years, particularly with the development of a large number of electronic features integrated into headphones. For example, headphones increasingly incorporate electronic functions, such as external noise cancellation to improve user comfort and the quality of the audio content transmitted to the user.

[0005] In addition, other electronic functions can also be integrated into these audio headsets, such as a function allowing the active noise reduction system to be switched off by the user acting on an earpiece or even automatic transmission of telephone communications received by the user on his mobile phone.

[0006] Another electronic feature is to recognize when the user removes the headset from their ears and to command the electronic functions of the headset to stop in order to save battery life.

[0007] Although these new features have led to increasing development in the audio headset sector, the invention more generally concerns all types of audio headsets and also passive audio headsets, that is to say audio headsets incorporating very little electronics or even no electronics for controlling the transmitted sound.

[0008] The invention relates more specifically to headphones comprising circumaural or supraaural earpieces, unlike in-ear earpieces.

[0009] These earpieces comprise a cushion positioned on the ear or surrounding the ear of the user, and making it possible to create a frontal listening cavity soundproofed from the external environment. This frontal cavity is formed by a front wall supporting the loudspeaker to the edge of which the cushion is fixed. Behind this front wall, the earpieces integrate a cover covering the loudspeaker and possibly a shell and electronic means for controlling the loudspeaker. Such earpieces are known from US 2020 / 213703 A1 and US 2018 / 103309 A1.

[0010] Notwithstanding the possible presence of vents that improve the speaker's performance, the geometry of an earpiece allows us to distinguish three zones between which it is preferable to guarantee sealing. Indeed, when this sealing is not optimal, acoustic leaks appear, which tends to degrade the sound reproduction of the headset.

[0011] For this purpose, the first zone corresponds to the front cavity, formed in front of the front wall. The second zone corresponds to the cavity formed between the cover and the assembly formed by the front wall and the loudspeaker, attached to the front wall by means of sealing gaskets, also called the rear cavity, and the third zone corresponds to the environment outside the cover.

[0012] Thus, the seal between the environment outside the hood and the rear cavity must be guaranteed and the same for the seal between the front cavity and the rear cavity.

[0013] Conventionally, the seal between the front cavity and the rear cavity is obtained by gluing the loudspeaker to the front wall. To achieve this, a loudspeaker conventionally comprises a moving assembly and a magnetic motor fixed to a basket. In certain embodiments, the outer edge of the moving assembly is connected to the basket by means of a suspension. The inner edge of the suspension is, for its part, fixed to the membrane of the moving assembly, the movements of which ensure the generation of acoustic waves. To obtain the desired movements of the moving assembly, the magnetic motor is fixed to the basket and it generates a constant magnetic field. A variable voltage is applied to the coil of the moving assembly, which allows the moving assembly to move with more or less amplitude.

[0014] However, gluing the speaker bowl to the front wall poses several technical problems.

[0015] Firstly, to ensure effective bonding of the salad bowl to the front wall, it is often necessary to use a chemical glue that presents risks to the health of the personnel ensuring the attachment of the salad bowl to the front wall.

[0016] In addition, this chemical glue is generally harmful to the environment.

[0017] Furthermore, the gluing of the bowl to the front wall greatly complicates the repairability of the headset because, to remove the speaker from the front wall, it is necessary to heat the glue until it evaporates. This operation must be carried out under a suction system to limit the risk of poisoning. Moreover, in some cases, it is not even possible to remove this glue so that the headset cannot be repaired.

[0018] Furthermore, when gluing the basket to the front wall, it is necessary to ensure that acoustic leaks are limited between the front cavity and the rear cavity of the earpiece. Leaks between these two cavities can occur if the basket is incorrectly positioned or if part of the basket is not perfectly glued to the front wall. To ensure limited leaks, when the loudspeaker is glued to the front wall, an operator carrying out the assembly must wait for the glue to dry completely and must then measure the acoustic leaks and check that they are sufficiently limited, preferably completely zero, at the level of the loudspeaker gluing area.

[0019] If the operator detects leaks above a threshold value in this area, he can then reapply a layer of glue to fill these leaks. This operation is therefore very time-consuming. To avoid using glue and improve the repairability of an earpiece, it would be possible to use screws to fix the basket to the front wall. However, the basket carries the magnetic motor consisting of one or more magnets. Therefore, bringing metal screws near these magnets can cause damage to the speaker if the screws are attracted by the magnets when screwing them.

[0020] Furthermore, the use of screws to fix the bowl also poses a problem for implementing this type of process in existing earpiece assembly lines. Indeed, a generally implemented assembly process is broken down into several stages carried out on an assembly line, each stage corresponding to an assembly station carried out by an operator.

[0021] The process of mounting the loudspeaker in the headset generally involves a first step of positioning the basket on the front wall. This step is carried out by a first operator who typically glues the loudspeaker to the front wall using its basket. The operator also makes the electrical connections of the loudspeaker to the headset's electronic board, if necessary. The operator then moves the assembly formed by the loudspeaker and the front wall to a second station, operated by a second operator.

[0022] The second operator is responsible for screwing the cover onto the front wall. The assembly is then moved to a third station where the operator performs an acoustic leak measurement. If acoustic leaks are detected and exceed a predetermined threshold, an additional layer of glue can be added between the bowl and the front wall by removing the cover.

[0023] If screws were to replace the glue currently used, the screws could be screwed into the second station equipped with screwing means. However, during transport between the first, second and third assembly stations, the basket would not be fixed to the front wall and could therefore move from its position, which could cause additional acoustic leaks and limit the final performance of the headset.

[0024] It is also possible to imagine an embodiment in which a system of deformable lugs allows the bowl to be kept pressed against the front wall. However, in the case where the acoustic leaks exceed the predetermined threshold, additional lugs cannot be installed to reduce the acoustic leaks. JP H05 80090 U shows a front wall with a deformable lug for fixing a speaker of an earpiece.

[0025] The problem that the invention aims to solve is therefore to find solutions for fixing the salad bowl to the front wall that limit the appearance of acoustic leaks while being environmentally friendly. DESCRIPTION DE L'INVENTION :

[0026] The invention proposes to address this technical problem by using a circumaural or supra-aural headset comprising a basket, on which the moving assembly and the magnetic motor of the loudspeaker are fixed, and a cover, removably mounted on the front wall of the headset, by means of the reversible cooperation of mechanical means.

[0027] In this case, the mechanical means are hybrid, since they include both deformable lugs and screws.

[0028] The deformable lugs allow, on the one hand, to guide the positioning of the loudspeaker during the assembly of the helmet and thus prevent the appearance of leaks due to incorrect positioning and, on the other hand, to hold the loudspeaker against the front wall when moving between the different assembly stations.

[0029] The screws allow the cover to be fixed to the front wall, so as to sandwich the speaker, via its basket, between the cover and the front wall. Thus, the pressure applied by the cover on the speaker allows the basket to be pressed against the front wall and limit the appearance of acoustic leaks. The basket is therefore held against the front wall thanks to the support of the cover, so that by unscrewing the screws of the cover, it is possible to separate the basket from the front wall by moving the deformable lugs.

[0030] The invention provides a circumaural or supraaural earpiece of an audio headset according to claim 1.

[0031] In other words, according to a first aspect, the invention relates to a circumaural or supra-aural earpiece of an audio headset comprising: a front wall, a loudspeaker equipped with a bowl, fixed on the front wall, and a cover fixed on the front wall so as to cover the loudspeaker.

[0032] The invention is characterized in that the loudspeaker and the cover are removably fixed to the front wall by the reversible cooperation of mechanical means, located on the cover and on an external wall of the bowl, with corresponding mechanical means located on the front wall.

[0033] The mechanical means of the bowl comprise at least one protrusion intended to cooperate with a deformable lug of the front wall, and the mechanical means of the cover comprise sites for receiving screws for fixing the cover to the front wall, the cover pressing the loudspeaker so as to guarantee the support of the bowl against the front wall.

[0034] In other words, the seal between the front cavity and the rear cavity is guaranteed by the combined action of the deformable lugs and the support of the cover on the loudspeaker, while the seal between the rear cavity and the environment outside the earpiece is guaranteed by the action of the screws fixing the cover to the front wall.

[0035] Compared to the prior art in which the speaker is glued to the front wall to ensure the seal between the front cavity and the rear cavity, the invention is more respectful of the environment and of operators since it does away with the use of glue. In addition, assembly is simplified by the presence of the lugs, since these allow the basket to be held in place during the various movements during the assembly of the helmet. The deformable lugs facilitate assembly and disassembly and save time compared to the use of screws, which must be screwed and unscrewed. In addition, by holding the basket by the support of the cover, it is possible to move the metal screws away from the magnetic motor and thus better protect the latter, since the risk of the screws being attracted by the motor magnets is more limited.In fact, the rear cover protects the magnetic motor and the screws cannot pass through this protective barrier despite the attraction generated by the magnetic motor on the screws.

[0036] In addition, the sandwich-like holding of the loudspeaker between the cover and the front wall makes it possible to limit the number of screws used. Indeed, in the solutions of the prior art, the screws have only one single function, namely to ensure the seal between the front cavity and the rear cavity or to ensure the seal between the rear cavity and the external environment. The invention uses leak-proof fixing screws passing through the cover, the loudspeaker basket and the front wall. These screws therefore have the dual function of ensuring the seal between the front cavity and the rear cavity or to ensure the seal between the rear cavity and the external environment.

[0037] In practice, the bowl further comprises an insertion tab extending radially outwards from the bowl and intended to cooperate with a stop housing in the front wall. The presence of such a tab makes it possible to guide the operator's movement when positioning the bowl against the front wall. Indeed, once inserted into the stop housing in the front wall, the tab blocks the front of the bowl and guides the tilting of the bowl so that the latter can correctly engage in the space formed between the deformable lugs of the front wall. The cooperation of the tab and the protrusions with the stop housing and the deformable lugs therefore makes it possible to limit acoustic leaks linked to poor positioning of the bowl.

[0038] According to one embodiment, the protrusions are two in number and are intended to be distributed symmetrically on either side of the stop housing. The symmetrical distribution makes it possible to balance the forces applied to the salad bowl and to prevent the latter from being dislodged from its position in the event of an impact, for example during assembly.

[0039] Advantageously, the salad bowl further comprises at least two ears having a square shape, the upper portion of which extends radially towards the outside of the salad bowl.

[0040] In practice, the cover presses onto the loudspeaker at the two ears of the basket. For this purpose, the cover may have support wedges extending towards the inside of the cavity formed between the cover and the loudspeaker, so as to come into contact with the upper face of the ears. Advantageously, the two ears are intended to come opposite two perforated studs in the front wall. Each ear has a through hole intended to receive an anti-leak fixing screw. The receiving sites of the cover further include openings for receiving said anti-leak fixing screws. For example, these openings are made through the support wedges described above. Thus, the anti-leak fixing screws pass through the cover and the ears to be screwed into the bases of the front wall. The anti-leak fixing screws thus make it possible to hold the cover, the loudspeaker and the front wall together.In addition, they provide even more sealing between the front cavity and the rear cavity, since the support of the screw reinforces the plating of the speaker against the front wall.

[0041] Access to the ear openings is conveniently from the top of the hood, which avoids having to disassemble and then reassemble the hood to add the anti-leak fixing screws.

[0042] When the headset is of the active type, the basket also includes a connector with two pads and a female plug, the connector being intended to connect the speaker to an electronic card of the headset in two ways. On the one hand, a wire ribbon connected to the electronic card of the headset can be plugged into the female plug and, on the other hand, closing the cover allows two pins to come into contact with the pads of the connector. Thus, two types of connection are possible, to best adapt to the different designs of the headsets. In practice, the connection with the wire ribbon is used for so-called "active" headsets, that is to say, those incorporating an electronic card intended for example for the cancellation of external noise. The connection by contact between the pins with the pads of the connector is used for so-called "passive" headsets, that is to say, those not incorporating electronics.

[0043] The earpiece can be covered with an outer shell in which the assembly formed by the front wall, the speaker equipped with the basket and the hood is attached. The shell thus protects the speaker and gives an aesthetic appearance to the headset. Alternatively, when the headset is of the passive type, the hood and the outer shell are combined. The outer shell then acts as a hood. This can then be screwed from the front of the front wall to prevent screws from being visible from the outside.

[0044] According to a second aspect, the invention provides a method of mounting an earpiece as described above, according to claim 9, said method comprising the steps of: positioning the bowl against the front wall of the earpiece by cooperation of the at least one protrusion with the at least one deformable lug of the front wall, fixing the cover on the front wall, by screwing at least one fixing screw, in at least one receiving site of the cover, the receiving sites having a through opening cooperating with studs of the front wall, measuring the acoustic leaks between a front cavity formed at the front of the front wall and the rear cavity formed at the rear of the front wall, and measuring the acoustic leaks between the rear cavity and the environment outside the cover. According to a preferred embodiment, the assembly of the bowl can be carried out by positioning the insertion tab in the stop housing and by tilting the bowl so as to deform the deformable lugs to allow the insertion of the protrusions.

[0045] The hood is then secured to the front wall by screwing leak-proof fixing screws through the hood, passing through the hood openings. The leak-proof fixing screws penetrate the ear openings to be screwed into the studs in the front wall.

[0046] If a need for leakage control is found between the front cavity and the rear cavity after the acoustic leakage measurements, the method includes the steps of removing the anti-leakage fixing screws from the hood, inserting a new anti-leakage fixing screw into the stop housing of the front wall to press against the insertion tab of the basket, and reassembling the hood with the anti-leakage fixing screws and remeasuring the remaining acoustic leakage.

[0047] Fixing the anti-leak fixing screws in the ears addresses both the problem of leaks detected between the rear cavity and the environment outside the hood, and the problem of leaks detected between the front cavity and the rear cavity. Fixing an anti-leak fixing screw in the stop housing only addresses the problem of leaks detected between the front cavity and the rear cavity.

[0048] Likewise, these steps can be performed in any order, depending on the needs detected after the acoustic leakage measurements.

[0049] If a need to limit leaks between the rear cavity and the external environment is found after the acoustic leakage measurements, the method further comprises fixing fixing screws in the receiving sites of the hood.

[0050] In particular, the method comprises the steps of: fixing of two first fixing screws in the hood reception sites, and if a need to limit leaks between the rear cavity and the external environment is again noted after a new leak measurement, adding additional fixing screws. The measurements of acoustic leaks between the front cavity and the rear cavity and between the rear cavity and the environment outside the hood can be carried out simultaneously or one after the other.

[0051] The assembly process is iterative. It depends on the quality of assembly carried out by the operators, the manufacturing tolerances of the various parts of the earpiece, as well as the desired acoustic leakage limit.

[0052] Therefore, the tighter the part tolerances and the more careful the assembly is, the less likely it is that there will be a need to limit acoustic leaks. The process can then be reduced to very few steps, saving a lot of time.

[0053] Conversely, if dimensional variations are observed on the lugs or on the thickness of the cover material, acoustic leaks may appear, which requires adding steps to the process. The number of process steps may also depend on the desired acoustic leakage limit. The more the aim is to produce a helmet with limited leaks, the lower the desired acoustic leakage limit and the more the process is likely to require leak measurement and correction steps in order to achieve the desired performance. For this type of high-end helmet, the use of fixing screws will therefore be more systematic than for a helmet meeting less demanding criteria. BREVE DESCRIPTION DES DESSINS :

[0054] The manner of carrying out the invention, as well as the advantages which result therefrom, will emerge clearly from the description of the embodiments which follow, supported by the appended figures in which: [ Fig 1 ] is an exploded perspective view of the assembly formed by the loudspeaker equipped with its bowl and the cover, attached to a front wall, according to a first embodiment of the invention, [ Fig 2 ] is a perspective view of a salad bowl according to a first embodiment of the invention, [ Fig 3 ] is a perspective view of the loudspeaker equipped with the bowl of the figure 2 , [ Fig 4 ] is a perspective view of a front wall according to a first embodiment of the invention, [ Fig 5 ] is a perspective view of a loudspeaker equipped with a basket according to the figure 2 , mounted on the front wall of the figure 4 , [ Fig 6 ] is a perspective view of a hood according to a first embodiment of the invention, [ Fig 7 ] is a perspective view of a loudspeaker according to the figure 3 , mounted on the front wall of the figure 4 , and means of connection with the electronic card of the headset, [ Fig 8 ] is a perspective view of a salad bowl according to the figure 2 and another means of connection, [ Fig 9 ] is a sectional view of an earpiece according to one embodiment of the invention, [ Fig 10 ] is a flowchart representing the steps in the process of assembling a loudspeaker of the figure 3 , inside each earpiece of a helmet and checking the conformity of the attachment with regard to acoustic leaks, [ Fig 11 ] is a perspective representation of the first step of the process of the figure 10 , comprising a salad bowl according to the figure 2 . [ Fig 12 ] is a perspective representation of the first step of the process of the figure 10 , comprising a loudspeaker according to the figure 3 . [ Fig 13 ] is a perspective representation of the second step of the process of the figure 10 , [ Fig 14 ] is a perspective representation of the third step of the process of the figure 10 , [ Fig 15 ] is a perspective representation of the fifth step of the process of the figure 10 , [ Fig 16 ] is a perspective representation of the eighth step of the process of the figure 10 . DESCRIPTION DETAILLEE DES MODES DE REALISATION :

[0055] As illustrated on the figure 1 , a circumaural or supra-aural headset has a front wall 20, on which is reported a set formed by a salad bowl 10 supporting the speaker 40 and a hood 30 covering the speaker 40.

[0056] The geometry of the atrium allows three distinct zones to be identified, as illustrated in figure 9 . The first zone Z1 corresponds to the frontal cavity, formed in front of the frontal wall 20. The second zone Z2corresponds to the cavity formed between the hood 30, the front wall 20 and the speaker 40, also called rear cavity, and the third zone Z3 corresponds to the environment outside the hood 30.

[0057] As illustrated on the figures 2 et 3 , the salad bowl 10 speaker 40 has a roughly circular shape. The central ring 11 of the salad bowl 10 has an internal wall 12 intended to accommodate the moving equipment and an external wall 13 comprising said mechanical means. The loudspeaker 40, which includes the moving assembly, the motor and the salad bowl 10, is intended to fit into a central opening 21 of the front wall 20, illustrated on the figure 4 . The speaker motor 40 can be reported on the salad bowl 10 for example, to the means of housing 44.The motor is thus fixed by the rotation of fins in the housings 44.

[0058] In particular, the outer wall 13 of the salad bowl 10 has an insertion tab 14 rigid extending radially outward from the bowl 10. The insertion tab 14 can be semi-circular or rectangular in shape. The insertion tab 14 is intended to cooperate with a stop housing 22 of the front wall 20.

[0059] The stop housing 22 is surmounted by a growth 23 extending radially inward from the front wall 20. So when the salad bowl 10 is inserted into the central opening 21 of the front wall 20, the outgrowth 23 blocks any vertical translational movement of the tongue 14,thus preventing the salad bowl from being extracted from the central opening 21. As illustrated on the figure 9 , the earpiece may also include seals 38 such as O-rings extending between the salad bowl 10 and the front wall 20 when the salad bowl 10 is fixed on the front wall 20. Alternatively, the gaskets are made of closed-cell foam such as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer foam or EVA foam, or Poron © foam.

[0060] In addition, to limit possible acoustic leaks that may appear with this type of mechanical assembly, the protrusion 23 has a through hole to accommodate a leak-proof fixing screw 43 pressing against the insertion tab 14 in order to maintain the salad bowl 10 pressed against the front wall 20at the insertion tab 14 and thus reduce acoustic leaks in this area. The salad bowl 10 also has at least one protrusion 15 intended to cooperate with a deformable lug 25 of the front wall 20. Preferably, the deformable lug 25 extends perpendicular to the front wall 20 over a length of between 0.5 and 2.5 cm. The deformable lug 25 has a body 27 topped with a head 26 having a beveled face allowing the head to be constrained 26 resting on the protuberance 15. So when the salad bowl 10 is inserted into the central opening 21 of the front wall 20, the deformable lug 25 holds the salad bowl in the central opening 21.

[0061] In a preferred embodiment, the deformable lugs 25and the protuberances 15 corresponding ones are two in number and are distributed symmetrically on either side of the stop housing 22.

[0062] In addition, to limit possible acoustic leaks that may appear with this type of mechanical assembly, the salad bowl 10 also has at least two ears 16 intended to come opposite two plots 24 ear reception 16. The ears 16 have a square shape whose upper portion extends radially towards the outside of the salad bowl 10. Each ear 16 has a through hole cooperating with a tapped hole in the studs 24, for example a blind hole. The studs 24 are for example cylindrical in shape and extend perpendicular to the front wall 20. Alternatively, the salad bowl 10 may have only one ear 16,diametrically opposite the insertion tab 14. Ear holes 16 and plots 24 are intended to receive anti-leak fixing screws 34, inserted from the hood 30, and passing through the ear hole 16 to then come and stick itself into the blind hole of the plot 24.

[0063] As illustrated on the figure 6 , a hood 30 is reported on the whole formed by the association of the salad bowl 10 and the front wall 20, illustrated in the figure 5 .

[0064] As illustrated on the figure 9 , The hood 30 leans on the speaker 40, for example at ear level 16 of the salad bowl 10. For this purpose, the hood may have protrusions extending towards the salad bowl. 10, thus forming support wedges coming into contact with the upper face of the ears 16.

[0065] The hood 30 presents reception sites 31, 32, 33 fixing screws 34, 35, 37 from the hood 30 on the front wall 20. Among these reception sites, the hood 30 includes in particular openings 32 allowing the insertion of anti-leak fixing screws 34 in the cavity formed between the hood 30 and the front wall 20 so as not to have to unscrew the hood 30 in order to fix the anti-leak fixing screws 34 on the ears 16. These openings 32 are for example provided at the level of the support wedges. In this way, the hood 30 rests against the salad bowl 10 from the speaker 40, and keeps it pressed against the front wall 20.

[0066] As illustrated on the figure 9 , the earpiece may also have seals 39extending between the hood 30 and the front wall 20 when the hood 30 is fixed on the front wall 20.

[0067] As illustrated on the figures 7 And 8 , when the headset is active type, the salad bowl 10 may also include a connector 17 having a female plug 18 to connect the speaker 40 to the headset's electronic board. The connector 17 also features two pads 19.

[0068] This connector 17 allows you to connect the speaker 40 to the helmet's electronic board in two ways. This electronic board is, for example, positioned in the cavity formed between the cover 30 and the front wall 20 or even outside this cavity, between the hood 30 and the outer shell.

[0069] The first way is to connect a wire strip 41, for example FPC type, connected to the headset electronic board in the female plug 18. The electronic board can be screwed into the outer shell 50 of the helmet, which is located behind the hood 30. The tablecloth of threads 41 then passes through an opening in the hood 30 to connect the electronic board. The second way is to connect a male connector 45 comprising two pins 36 with both pads 19 of the connector 17. The male connector 45 is preferably located under the hood 30. Closing the hood causes the pins to come into contact 36 with the pads 19. Alternatively, the electronic board can be positioned anywhere in the helmet.

[0070] As illustrated on the figure 10 , the invention also relates to a mounting method 100 from the speaker 40 à the inside of each earpiece and checking the conformity of the attachment with regard to acoustic leaks. This process can be carried out within a headset assembly line. To do this, several assembly stations are defined. Each station is staffed by an operator.

[0071] A loudspeaker 40 is generally supplied directly with its salad bowl 10. Thus, in the remainder of this description, when reference is made to the bowl, this implies the presence of all the elements of the loudspeaker 40.

[0072] More specifically, as illustrated on the figures 11 et 12 , the first step 101 of the process consists, for the operator, in positioning the loudspeaker 40 by placing the insertion tab 14 of the salad bowl 10 in the stop housing 22.To do this, the stop housing 22 preferably has a semi-circular shape extending radially outwards relative to the centre of the loudspeaker 40 when it is fixed on the front wall 20. The insertion tab 14 also preferably has a shape adapted to the semi-circular shape of the stop housing 22. When the insertion tab 14 is inserted into the stop housing 22, the salad bowl 10 can tilt around the pivot formed by the stop housing 22 and be leaning against the front wall 20 so as to deform the at least one deformable lug 25 of the front wall 20 under the action of at least one protuberance 15 of the salad bowl 10, in one step 102, illustrated in the figure 13 . Preferably, the salad bowl 10 may have two protrusions 15able to cooperate with two deformable lugs 25. Deformable lugs 25 are preferably positioned with the insertion tab 14 so as to form an equilateral triangle inscribed in the ring of the salad bowl 10. The steps 101 And 102 are carried out by the same operator. Additionally, the speaker connections 40 in one of the two ways described above are made so as to connect the loudspeaker 40 to the electronic card. The assembly formed by the association of the loudspeaker 40 and the front wall 20 is then transferred to another station, in which a hood 30 can be reported on the front wall 20.

[0073] Depending on the embodiments, the next step may consist of inserting two leak-proof fixing screws 34 through the openings 32.The openings 32 open out in front of the ears 16. So, as illustrated on the figure 9 , the anti-leak fixing screws 34 cross the hood in turn 30, the ears 16 and come to stick in the plots 24 of the front wall 20. These leak-proof fixing screws 34 thus allow both the hood to be maintained 30, the speaker 40 and the front wall 20. They ensure both the seal between the front cavity Z1 and the rear cavity Z2 and the seal between the rear cavity Z2 and the external environment Z3. Alternatively, in a step 103, illustrated in the figure 14 , the hood attachment 30 can be ensured both by screwing in the anti-leakage fixing screws 34 and by screwing in the first two fixing screws 37 in the reception sites33. Reception sites 33 have a through opening and cooperate with studs 29 of the front wall 20. The plots 29 also have an opening for screwing in the fixing screws 37. So the fixing screws 37 cross the reception sites 33 before getting stuck in the plots 29, thus holding the hood to the front wall 20.

[0074] After fixing the hood 30, the set formed by the association of the loudspeaker 40, of the front wall 20 and the hood 30 can be moved to another position in which the leaks between the front cavity Z1 and the rear cavity Z2 and leaks between the rear cavity Z2 and the external environment Z3can be measured. These measurements can be carried out simultaneously or sequentially without changing the invention. This step 104 allows you to determine whether the fixing screws 37 and / or the anti-leak fixing screws 34 are sufficient to ensure the limitation of acoustic leaks depending on the desired performance. To do this, a microphone can be placed in the front cavity and / or in the rear cavity while the loudspeaker 40 is used to generate sounds over an expected frequency range. Alternatively, an electrical impedance measurement can be performed.

[0075] If there is a need to limit leaks between the rear cavity Z2 and the external environment Z3 is observed, it is possible, in a step 105 illustrated in the figure 15 , to transfer the set formed by the association of the loudspeaker 40, of the front wall 20 and the hood30 to another position and add additional fixing screws, for example two in number, fixed through the cover 30 crossing the reception sites 31. Reception sites 31 have a through opening and cooperate with studs 29 of the front wall 20.

[0076] If there is a need to limit leaks between the frontal cavity Z1 and the rear cavity Z2 is found, it is possible to remove the fixing screws 37 and the anti-leak fixing screws 34 from the hood 30 and remove the hood 30. A new leak-proof fixing screw 43 can then be inserted, in a step 107, illustrated in the figure 16 , in the outgrowth 23 to press against the insertion tab 14.

[0077] The steps 105 And 107can be performed in any order without changing the invention. Finally, step 108 aims to raise the hood 30 with the fixing screws 37, 35 and the anti-leak fixing screws 34 and to measure, in one step 110, the remaining leaks in order to verify the conformity of the speaker assembly 40 compared to the desired performance.

[0078] To conclude, the invention provides solutions for fixing the salad bowl to the front wall, making it possible to limit the appearance of acoustic leaks while being environmentally friendly.

Claims

1. A circumaural or supra-aural earpiece of an audio headset comprising: - a front wall (20), - a loudspeaker (40) equipped with a basket assembly (10), fixed on the front wall (20), and - a cap (30) fixed on the front wall (20) so as to cover the loudspeaker (40), characterized in that the front wall (20) comprises a deformable stub (25), and in that the loudspeaker (40) and the cap (30) are removably fixed on the front wall (20) by the reversible cooperation of mechanical means, located on the cap (30) and on an external wall (13) of the basket assembly (20), with corresponding mechanical means located on the front wall (20), said mechanical means of the basket assembly (10) comprising at least one protuberance (15) intended to cooperate with said deformable stub (25) of the front wall (20), and said mechanical means of the cap (30) comprising reception sites (31, 32, 33) of fixing screws (34, 35, 37) of the cap (30) on the front wall (20), the cap pressing the loudspeaker (40) so as to guarantee the pressing of the basket assembly (10) against the front wall (20).

2. The earpiece according to claim 1, characterized in that the basket assembly (10) further comprises at least two ears (16) in the form of a bracket, the upper portion of which extends radially toward the outside of the basket assembly (10), the two ears (16) being intended to come opposite two perforated studs (24) of the front wall (20), each ear (16) comprising a through hole intended to receive an anti-leakage fixing screw (34) that is to say a screw allowing to hold together the cover (30), the loudspeaker (40) and the front wall (20) while ensuring a seal between a front cavity (Z1) and a rear cavity (Z2) and a seal between the rear cavity (Z2) and an external environment (Z3).

3. The earpiece according to claim 2, characterized in that the cap (30) presses the loudspeaker (40) at the site of two ears (16) of the basket assembly (10).

4. The earpiece according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the reception sites of the cap (30) include openings (32) making it possible to accommodate said anti-leakage fixing screws (34), so that said anti-leakage fixing screws (34) pass through the cap (30) and the ears (16), in order to be screwed into the studs (24) of the front wall (20).

5. The earpiece according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the basket assembly (10) further comprises an insertion tab (14) extending radially toward the outside of the basket assembly (10) and intended to cooperate with a stop housing (22) of the front wall (20).

6. The earpiece according to claim 5, characterized in that the protuberances (15) are two in number and are intended to be distributed symmetrically on either side of the stop housing (22).

7. The earpiece according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the basket assembly (10) also comprises a connector (17) comprising two pads (19) and a female plug (18), the connector (17) being intended to connect the loudspeaker (40) to an electronic board of the headset in two ways.

8. The earpiece according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it further comprises an external shell (50) in which are attached the assembly formed by the front wall (20), the loudspeaker (40) equipped with the basket assembly (10) and the cap (30).

9. An assembly method (100) of an earpiece according to any one of claims 1 to 8, said method comprising the steps of: positioning (102) the basket assembly (10) against the front wall (20) of the earpiece, by cooperation of the at least one protuberance (15) with the at least one deformable stub (25) of the front wall (20), fixing (103) the cap (30) on the front wall (20), by screwing in at least one fixing screw (34, 35, 37), in at least one reception site (31, 32, 33) of the cap (30), the reception sites (31, 32, 33) having a through opening cooperating with studs (24, 29) of the front wall (20), measuring (104) the acoustic leaks between a front cavity (Z1) formed at the front of the front wall (20) and the rear cavity (Z2) formed at the rear of the front wall (20), and measuring (104) the acoustic leaks between the rear cavity (Z2) and the external environment (Z3) of the cap.

10. The assembly method according to claim 9, of an earpiece according to claim 4, said method further comprising the steps of: positioning (101) the insertion tab (14) in the stop housing (22) and tilting the basket assembly (10) so as to deform the at least one deformable stub (25) in order to allow the insertion of the protuberances (15), fixing (103) the cap (30) on the front wall (20), by screwing anti-leakage fixing screws (34) through the cap (30), passing through the openings (32), the anti-leakage fixing screws (34) penetrating into the openings of the ears (16) in order to be screwed into the studs (24), if a need to limit leaks between the front cavity (Z1) and the rear cavity (Z2) is noted, disassembling (106) the anti-leakage fixing screws (34) of the cap (30) and inserting (107) a new anti-leakage fixing screw (43) in the protrusion (23) of the front wall (20) in order to press against the insertion tab (14) of the basket assembly (10), reassembling (108) the cap (30) with the anti-leakage fixing screws (34), and new measurement (110) of the remaining acoustic leaks.

11. The assembly method according to claim 9, of an earpiece according to claim 4, said method further comprising the step of fixing (105) fixing screws (35, 37) in the reception sites of the cap (31, 33), if a need to limit leaks between the rear cavity (Z2) and the external environment (Z3) is noted after the measurement (104) of the acoustic leaks.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Headphone driver unit fixing device

    JP1993080090U