Earphone which incorporates temperature gauge

Abstract

To provide an earphone which incorporates a temperature gauge that monitors the body temperature of a user.SOLUTION: An earphone contains: a housing 2; a temperature gauge module 3; and a speaker module 4. By the housing, a channel 213 having a cavity and a channel open part is fixed. The temperature gauge module is provided into the housing, and receives infrared radiation from a tympanic membrane by the channel. The speaker module is provided into the housing in order to generate a sound wave. The sound wave of them is transmitted toward the tympanic membrane by the channel, the speaker module fixes an infrared radiation path and a sound wave path that are separated in the channel with the housing and the temperature gauge module, and each of them transmits the sound wave generated by the infrared radiation and the speaker module of the tympanic membrane.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an earphone, and more particularly to an earphone with a built-in thermometer. [Background technology]

[0002] 1, a typical earphone includes a front housing 11, a rear housing 12, a speaker 13, a battery 14, and a sleeve 15. The front housing 11 is connected to the rear housing 12, and the front housing 11 includes a body portion 111 that defines a cavity 10 together with the rear housing 12, and a neck portion 112 that is connected to the body portion 111. The neck portion 112 defines an acoustic path 113 therein, the acoustic path 113 spatially communicates with the cavity 10 and includes an opening away from the cavity 10, the speaker 13 is disposed in the cavity 10, sound waves generated by the speaker 13 are propagated through the acoustic path 113, the battery 14 is disposed in the cavity 10 and electrically connected to the speaker 13, and the sleeve 15 is attached to the distal end of the neck portion 112 of the front housing 11.

[0003] Recently, earphones may require additional functionality: for example, in addition to sound wave output, earphones may include a built-in tympanic temperature sensor that monitors the user's body temperature by receiving infrared radiation from the user's tympanic membrane.

[0004] However, if the eardrum temperature sensor is placed in the sound path 113, sound waves propagating through the sound path 113 may be blocked by the eardrum temperature sensor, which may have a negative effect on the sound quality of the earphones.

[0005] In order to place the tympanic membrane temperature sensor in the cavity 10 without blocking the sound path 113, the tympanic membrane temperature sensor is away from the opening of the sound path 113, and infrared radiation from the tympanic membrane enters the cavity 10 via the sound path 113. Therefore, the tympanic membrane temperature sensor may receive a large amount of radiation that is not related to the temperature of the tympanic membrane, for example, infrared radiation from the inner wall of the neck portion 112 of the front housing 11, which may result in an inaccurate measurement of the user's body temperature. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an earphone that can alleviate at least one of the shortcomings of the prior art. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the earphone is designed to be inserted into a user's ear canal, the earphone including a housing, a thermometer module, and a speaker module. The housing defines a cavity and a channel located therein. The channel is in spatial communication with the cavity, and the channel has a channel opening remote from the cavity, the channel opening in spatial communication with the ear canal. The thermometer module is disposed within the housing and is designed to measure the user's body temperature by receiving infrared radiation of the user's eardrum by the channel. The speaker module is disposed within the housing to generate sound waves that are propagated by the channel towards the eardrum. The speaker module together with the housing and the thermometer module define separate infrared radiation and sound wave paths within the channel, respectively transmitting the infrared radiation of the eardrum and the sound waves generated by the speaker module. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] Other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the drawings in which various features may not be drawn to scale. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional earphone. [Diagram 2] 1 is an exploded perspective view of an earphone according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the present disclosure, with a portion of a front housing of the embodiment omitted. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an acoustic wave conduit according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a frequency response diagram of the volume generated according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] In describing the contents of the disclosure in more detail, it will be noted that, where deemed appropriate, repeated reference numbers or final portions of reference numbers in the figures refer to corresponding or similar parts, which parts may optionally have similar features.

[0010] It should be noted that for clarity of description, spatial relationship terms such as "top," "bottom," "upper," "lower," "above," "above," "located above," "downward," "upward," "forward," "backward," and similar terms may be used to describe illustrated features throughout the disclosure. These features may be rotated in different orientations (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and therefore the spatial relationship terms used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

[0011] 2 and 3, an earphone according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a housing 2, a thermometer module 3, and a speaker module 4. The thermometer module 3 and the speaker module 4 are mounted in the housing 2.

[0012] In this embodiment, the housing 2 includes a front housing part 21, a rear housing part 22, and a rear cover 23. The front housing part 21 is connected to the rear housing part 22, and includes a body part 211 that defines a cavity 20 together with the rear housing part 22, and a neck part 212 that extends forward from the body part 211, the neck part 212 tapering away from the body part 211, and a channel 213 is defined therein, the channel 213 having a channel opening 214 that spatially communicates with the cavity 20 and is away from the body part 211. The rear cover 23 is attached to the side of the rear housing part 22 facing the front housing part 21. Note that in this embodiment, the housing 2 is structurally divided into the front housing part 21, the rear housing part 22, and the rear cover 23 that are connected to each other. However, in a variant, the housing 2 may be structurally divided into housing parts different from those in the above embodiment, or may be integrally formed by insert molding techniques.

[0013] In this embodiment, the thermometer module 3 is configured as a tympanic thermometer for monitoring the temperature of the user by receiving infrared radiation emitted from the user's tympanic membrane. The thermometer module 3 includes an infrared sensor 31, an optical waveguide 32, and an infrared filter 33, the infrared sensor 31 being located in the cavity 20, the optical waveguide 32 being configured as a long tube mounted in the channel 213, the optical waveguide 32 having an entrance opening near the channel opening 214 and an exit opening away from the channel opening 214, where the infrared radiation emitted from the tympanic membrane can pass through and enter the optical waveguide 32, and the exit opening is covered by the infrared sensor 31. The optical waveguide 32 defines an infrared radiation path located therein, the infrared radiation path being fixed radially outside the channel 213 and occupying a minor portion of the channel 213. The remaining part of the channel 213 (i.e., the main part of the channel 213) is separated from the infrared radiation path and is an acoustic wave path. The entrance opening of the light guide 32 occupies a minor part of the channel opening 214, and the inner peripheral surface of the light guide 32 is gold plated to improve infrared reflection within the light guide 32. An infrared filter 33 covers the entrance opening of the light guide 32 to prevent impurities from entering the infrared radiation path and depositing on the inner peripheral surface of the light guide 32. In this embodiment, the infrared filter 33 may be made of crystalline silicone or an infrared transparent polymer, for example, high density polyethylene (HDPE), which has high transparency to waves with a wavelength of 10 μm.

[0014] Because the entrance opening of the optical waveguide 32 is located near the channel opening 214 and the exit opening of the optical waveguide 32 is covered by the infrared sensor 31, radiation not related to the eardrum temperature (e.g., infrared radiation from the neck 212 of the housing 2) may not be able to enter the optical waveguide 32, and therefore the infrared radiation emitted from the eardrum is fully received by the infrared sensor 31, allowing the thermometer module 3 to accurately measure the user's body temperature. Because the optical waveguide 32 is fixed radially outside the channel 213, the integrity of the sound wave path is maintained.

[0015] The speaker module 4 includes a speaker 41, an acoustic conduit 42, and an acoustic filter 43. The speaker 41 is located within the cavity 20, and the acoustic conduit 42 is located substantially within the cavity 20 and extends to the acoustic path. Still referring to FIG. 4, the acoustic conduit 42 is funnel-shaped and includes a tapered portion 421 and a tubular portion 423 connected to the tapered portion 421, the tapered portion 421 being located within the cavity 20 and tapering towards the channel 213, and the tubular portion 423 being connected to the tapered end of the tapered portion 421 and extending to the channel 213. The tapered portion 421 of the sound wave conduit 42 defines a tapered space therein that tapers toward the tubular portion 423 as a sound collection space 422, with an inlet opening located away from the tubular portion 423 and in a first imaginary plane, and an outlet opening located closer to the tubular portion 423 and in a second imaginary plane parallel to the first imaginary plane. The tubular portion 423 defines a sound output space 424 located therein and in spatial communication with the outlet opening of the sound collection space 422. In one embodiment, the diameter of the entrance opening of the sound collection space 422 is D1, the diameter of the exit opening of the sound collection space 422 is D2, D2 is smaller than D1, the distance between the entrance opening and the exit opening of the sound collection space 422 (i.e., the distance between the first imaginary plane and the second imaginary plane) is H, and the length of the tubular portion 423 of the sound wave conduit 42 is A. The diameter of the tubular portion 423 is equal to the diameter of the exit opening of the sound collection space 422. In one variant, the entrance opening or the exit opening of the sound collection space 422 may not necessarily be circular, and the geometric relationship between the entrance opening and the exit opening of the sound collection space 422 may be estimated as described above.

[0016] In this embodiment, the sound collection space 422 is axially symmetrical and symmetrical with respect to a central axis C, the central axis C extends through the center of the entrance opening of the sound collection space 422 and the center of the exit opening of the sound collection space 422, and the central axis C is perpendicular to the first imaginary plane and the second imaginary plane. In one variant, the sound collection space 422 may be asymmetrical. Specifically, when the sound collection space 422 is asymmetrical, the central axis that passes through the center of the entrance opening of the sound collection space 422 and is perpendicular to the first imaginary plane does not extend through the center of the exit opening of the sound collection space 422, and in the direction perpendicular to the central axis C, the distance between the center of the entrance opening and the center of the exit opening is less than 1 / 4 of the diameter D1 of the entrance opening of the sound collection space 422.

[0017] The speaker 41 is fixed to the entrance opening of the sound collection space 422, the speaker 41 has a diameter equal to the diameter D1 of the entrance opening, the speaker 41 is for generating sound waves, which are transmitted by the sound wave conduit 42 into the sound wave path. The acoustic filter 43 covers the end of the sound wave conduit 42 away from the sound wave path (i.e., the acoustic filter 43 covers a part of the channel opening 214) to prevent impurities from entering the sound wave path and blocking the sound waves generated by the speaker 41. In one embodiment, the acoustic filter 43 may be made of a plurality of miniaturized through holes, allowing the sound waves to be propagated by these miniaturized through holes.

[0018] In one embodiment, the earphone may further include a sleeve 5, which is attached to the distal end of the neck 212 of the housing 2. In use, the neck 212 is inserted into the ear canal of a user, and the sleeve 5 is fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the ear canal. The sleeve 5 is flexible and may be made of a foam material.

[0019] In one embodiment, the earphones may further include a battery 6 located within the cavity 20 and electrically connected to the speaker 41 and / or the infrared sensor 31. In one embodiment, the battery 6 may be configured as a rechargeable battery. In one embodiment, the earphones may further include a printed circuit board 7 located within the rear housing portion 22 of the housing 2, and the printed circuit board 7 is electrically connected to the speaker 41 and / or the infrared sensor 31.

[0020] When the diaphragm of the speaker 41 vibrates, the air particles on the surface of the diaphragm are driven to vibrate, and after obtaining initial velocity and kinetic energy from the diaphragm, the air particles begin a multi-directional sound propagation process in the cavity 20. If a barrier is located in the path of the air particles' movement, the sound waves in the path will be reflected, interfered, and reverberated, which will degrade the sound quality of the earphone. The function of the funnel-shaped sound wave conduit 42 of the present disclosure is to reduce these factors that degrade the sound quality.

[0021] The funnel-shaped sound conduit 42 improves sound quality in three ways. First, the tapered sound collection volume 422 of the sound conduit 42 helps the multi-directional sound waves from the speaker to propagate unobstructed toward the sound output volume 424 and reach the eardrum, so that the sound waves are not distorted by other assemblies in the cavity 20. Second, the funnel-shaped sound conduit 42 configuration prevents the loss of energy caused by sound scattering while restricting the sound to flow in waves, thereby increasing the total kinetic energy of the output sound waves. According to the principles of acoustics, an increase in the kinetic energy of sound flow leads to an increase in sound pressure level. Regarding the third aspect, the tapered sound collection volume 422 of the sound conduit 42 increases the sound flow velocity of the vibrating air particles in the sound output volume 424, so that when the sound waves generated by the loudspeaker 41 flow through the tapered sound collection volume 422 of the sound conduit 42 and leave the sound conduit 42 through the sound output volume 424, the cross-sectional diameter is reduced, so that the velocity of the air particles at the exit opening of the sound collection volume 422 leaving the sound output volume 424 is much higher than the initial velocity of the air particles on the diaphragm of the loudspeaker 41, and thus the increase in the air flow velocity at the exit opening of the funnel-shaped sound conduit 42 increases the sound pressure level in the audible frequency range. In the low frequency range, the increase in the flow velocity significantly increases the harmonic oscillating amplitude of the air particles. According to the principles of acoustics, the sound pressure level is proportional to the vibration amplitude. Therefore, the increase in sound pressure level in the low frequency range is more significant due to the existence of the sound wave guide 42. Regarding the characteristics of the sound pressure level in the low frequency range, it is found that in a conventional earphone, low-velocity air particles with small amplitudes generate low sound pressure levels near the diaphragm of the speaker of the conventional earphone. If the speaker emits sound waves in an open space, the sound pressure level may even be reduced in the low frequency range.However, in the earphone according to the present disclosure, due to the tapered sound collection space 422, the velocity of the air particles flowing through the funnel-shaped sound wave duct 42 is significantly increased. Conversely, in the high-frequency range, the same increase in the velocity of the air particles only results in a slight increase in the amplitude, and thus the sound pressure level slightly rises. Therefore, the increase in the sound pressure level within the low-frequency range is more significant than that within the high-frequency range.

[0022] To verify the feasibility of the earphone of the present disclosure, a plurality of sound pressure level tests were conducted under test conditions conforming to the international standard IEC-60268-7. In the test, the sound pressure levels generated by different sound wave guide devices (for example, the funnel-shaped sound wave duct 42 of the present disclosure) were measured. Referring to FIG. 5, a comparison of three sound pressure level curves is shown, where curve 1 is displayed as a dotted line, curve 2 is displayed as a thin solid line, and curve 3 is displayed as a thick solid line. The sound wave guide device of curve 1 is used by a well-known earphone manufacturer, which is a disc with a diameter of 10 mm and a thickness of 1 mm, and a round hole with a diameter of 2.5 mm is provided in the center, and the fitting gap between the sound wave guide device of curve 1 and the diaphragm of the speaker is 1.5 mm. The sound wave guide device of curve 2 is the funnel-shaped sound wave duct 42 of the present disclosure, and the specific parameters are D1 = 10 mm, D2 = 2.5 mm, H = 3.0 mm, and A = 4.0 mm. The sound wave guide device of curve 3 is also the funnel-shaped sound wave duct 42 of the present disclosure, and the specific parameters are D1 = 10 mm, D2 = 2.0 mm, H = 3.0 mm, and A = 2.5 mm. As can be seen from the comparison of the three sound pressure level curves, any of the funnel-shaped sound wave ducts 42 of the present disclosure can generate a higher sound pressure level within the audible frequency range. The difference between curve 2 and curve 3 indicates that the geometric parameters may significantly affect the performance of the funnel-shaped sound wave duct 42. To obtain good performance for the sound wave duct 42 of the present disclosure, it is recommended to select the geometric parameter values within the following ranges, namely, 0.15 < D2 / D1 < 0.35, 0.12 < H / D1 < 0.5, and 0.10 < A / D1 < 0.6.

[0023] As can be seen from the above, the earphone of the present disclosure defines separate infrared radiation and sound wave paths therein, allowing infrared radiation and sound waves to pass through respectively. Therefore, the thermometer module 3 can accurately measure the user's body temperature without adversely affecting the sound quality of the earphone. In addition, the accuracy of the thermometer module 3 is improved because the inner peripheral surface of the optical waveguide 32 is provided with a gold-plated layer, which improves the infrared reflection in the optical waveguide 32. In addition, due to the funnel-shaped sound guide 42, the earphone of the present disclosure has a more noticeable increase in sound pressure level in the low frequency range.

[0024] In the above description, for the purpose of interpretation, many details are provided to fully grasp the embodiment. However, one skilled in the art can implement one or more other embodiments without these details. In addition, throughout this specification, references to "one embodiment," "one embodiment," or embodiments shown in order, etc., indicate that the implementation of the present disclosure may include certain features, structures, or characteristics. In addition, in the description, various features may be combined in one embodiment, figure, or description to simplify the present disclosure and facilitate understanding of various novelties, and this does not mean that each feature is implemented only when all other features are present. In other words, in any of the described embodiments, if the implementation of one or more features or details does not affect the implementation of another one or more features or details, these one or more features may be extracted and implemented alone without another one or more features or details. In addition, in the process of implementing the present disclosure, one or more features or details of one embodiment may be used in combination with one or more features or details of another embodiment, as desired.

[0025] Although the present disclosure has been described in relation to what are considered to be exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is intended to cover various combinations, including all modifications and equivalent combinations within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 10 Cavity 11 Front housing 111 Main body 112 Neck 113 Sound path 12 Rear housing 13 Speakers 14 Battery 15 Sleeve 2. Housing 20 Cavity 21 Front housing part 211 Main body 212 Neck 213 Channel 214 Channel opening 22 Rear housing part 23 Rear cover 3 Thermometer Module 31 Infrared Sensor 32 Optical waveguide 33 Infrared Filter 4 Speaker Module 41 Speakers 42 Sonic Tube 421 Tapered section 422 Sound collection space 423 Tubular section 424 Sound Output Space 43 Acoustic Filter 5 Sleeve 6 Battery 7 Printed Circuit Board C center axis

Claims

1. 1. An earphone adapted for insertion into a user's ear canal, comprising: a housing defining a cavity and a channel located therein, the channel in spatial communication with the cavity, the channel having a channel opening spaced from the cavity, the channel opening in spatial communication with the ear canal; a thermometer module disposed within the housing, the thermometer module configured to measure a body temperature of a user by receiving infrared radiation from the user's eardrum via the channel; and a speaker module disposed within the housing for generating sound waves, the sound waves being propagated by the channel towards the eardrum, the speaker module defining, together with the housing and the thermometer module, separate infrared radiation and sound wave paths within the channel, each transmitting the infrared radiation of the eardrum and the sound waves generated by the speaker module, respectively; The thermometer module includes an optical waveguide, the optical waveguide being disposed within the channel and defining the infrared radiation path therein, and the earphone having an inner peripheral surface of the optical waveguide coated with a gold plating layer.

2. 2. The earphone of claim 1, wherein the optical waveguide occupies a minor portion of the channel, and a major portion of the channel is the acoustic wave passage.

3. the optical waveguide has an entrance opening and an exit opening spaced from the channel opening, the entrance opening occupying a minor portion of the channel opening and allowing the infrared radiation from the tympanic membrane to enter the optical waveguide; 2. The earphone of claim 1, wherein the thermometer module further includes an infrared filter, the infrared filter being made from one of crystalline silicone and an infrared-transparent polymer and covering an entrance opening of the light guide, the light guide being disposed within the channel and defining an infrared radiation path therein, the light guide being secured radially outward of the channel.

4. 2. The earphone of claim 1, wherein the speaker module includes a speaker and a sound wave conduit, the speaker being located within a cavity, the sound wave conduit being funnel-shaped and located substantially within the cavity and extending into the sound wave path, the sound wave conduit having a tapered portion and a tubular portion connected to the tapered portion, the tapered portion being located within the cavity and tapering towards the channel, and the tubular portion being connected to a tapered end of the tapered portion and extending into the channel.

5. 5. The earphone of claim 4, wherein the tapered portion of the acoustic conduit defines a collection volume that tapers toward the tubular portion, the collection volume having an entrance opening away from the tubular portion and located in a first imaginary plane, and an exit opening closer to the tubular portion and located in a second imaginary plane parallel to the first imaginary plane, the entrance opening and the exit opening of the collection volume are circular, and a diameter of the exit opening of the collection volume is smaller than a diameter of the entrance opening, but the collection volume is axially symmetric or asymmetric.

Images