Vent device and vent method thereof

Abstract

To provide a venting device configured to smooth the pressure change between a chamber of a wearable sound device and an external environment so as to reduce click noise thereby improving a listening experience.SOLUTION: In a wearable sound device 10, a venting device 10vntD includes: a first flap 111Fa, which is configured to be actuated to swing upward during a rising time; a second flap 111Fb, which is disposed opposite the first flap and configured to be actuated to swing downward during a falling time; a first actuating portion 112Ca disposed on the first flap; and a second actuating portion 112Cb disposed on the second flap. The venting device is disposed within the wearable sound device or to be disposed within the wearable sound device. The vent 113vnt is formed via applying a first voltage to the first actuating portion and applying a second voltage to the second actuating portion such that the venting device gradually forms the vent.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a venting device and a venting method thereof, and more specifically, to a venting device and a venting method thereof that reduce the occlusion effect and improve the user experience.

Background Art

[0002] The occlusion effect occurs from the sealed volume of the ear canal, which brings a perceivable pressure to the listener. For example, the occlusion effect occurs when a listener wearing a wearable sound device in the ear canal performs a specific motion (e.g., jogging) that generates bone-conducted sound. However, a click noise may occur when the pressure in the closed electric field chamber is released. There is room for further improvement regarding the occlusion effect in order to enhance the listening experience.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Patent Document 4

Patent Document 5

Patent Document 6

Patent Document 7

Patent Document 8

Patent Document 9

Patent Document 27

Patent Document 28

Patent Document 29

Patent Document 30

Patent Document 31

Patent Document 32

Patent Document 33

Patent Document 34

Patent Document 35

Patent Document 36

Patent Document 37

Patent Document 38

Patent Document 39

Non-Patent Document

[0004]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Therefore, the first object of the present application is to provide a vent device and a vent method for improving the drawbacks of the prior art.

[0006] One embodiment of the present application discloses a vent device, the vent device including a first flap configured to be actuated to swing upward during a rising time, a second flap disposed on the opposite side of the first flap and configured to be actuated to swing downward during a falling time, a first actuating portion disposed on the first flap, and a second actuating portion disposed on the second flap. The vent device configured to form a vent is disposed within a wearable sound device or configured to be disposed within a wearable sound device. The vent is formed by applying a first voltage to the first actuating portion and a second voltage to the second actuating portion such that the vent device gradually forms the vent.

[0007] One embodiment of the present application discloses a vent method, the vent method including actuating a first flap to gradually swing upward during a rising time and actuating a second flap to gradually swing downward during a falling time. The vent method is applied to a vent device, the vent device being disposed within a wearable sound device or configured to be disposed within the wearable sound device, the vent device being configured to form a vent, and the vent device including the first flap and the second flap.

[0008] One embodiment of the present application discloses a venting device, the venting device including a first flap configured to be actuated to swing upward during a rising time or swing downward during a falling time, and a second flap disposed adjacent to the first flap, the venting device configured to form a vent is disposed within or configured to be disposed within a wearable sound device.

[0009] These and other objects of the present invention will become clearly apparent to those skilled in the art after reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments shown in the various figures and drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 9

Figure 10

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wearable sound device 10 according to an embodiment of the present application. The wearable sound device 10 (for example, an in-ear device) may include a vent device 10vntD and a drive circuit 10dvrC.

[0012] The vent device 10vntD may include a membrane structure 111 and an actuator 112. The slit may divide the membrane structure 111 into two flaps 111Fa and 111Fb facing each other. The flaps 111Fa / 111Fb may include a free end and a fixed end fixed to the substrate 114. The actuator 112 can include operating parts 112Ca and 112Cb disposed on the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb, respectively.

[0013] The drive circuit 10dvrC configured to drive the vent device 10vntD outputs a voltage 1Vo1 to the operating part 112Ca and a voltage 1Vo2 to the operating part 112Cb so that the flaps 111Fa / 111Fb are actuated by the operating parts 112Ca / 112Cb and swing / tilt up and down to promote a dynamic vent.

[0014] That is, the wearable sound device 10 can be switched between a first mode / open mode shown in FIG. 1(a) for opening the vent 113vnt and a second mode / closed mode shown in FIG. 1(b) for closing the vent 113vnt. To operate the wearable sound device 10 in the first mode / open mode, the flap 111Fa may tilt upward and the flap 111Fb may tilt downward. As shown in FIG. 1(a), when the difference between the free ends of the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb is greater than the thickness of the membrane structure 111, it can be said that the vent 113vnt is open or otherwise formed. Therefore, an air flow channel is formed between the volume 130chmF (which is connected or to be connected to the ear canal) and the volume 130chmB (which is connected or to be connected to the external ambient environment), and the pressure generated by the occlusion effect is released / reduced.

[0015] To operate the wearable sound device 10 in the second mode / closed mode, the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb move in opposite ways. For example, the flap 111Fa may swing downward and the flap 111Fb may swing upward. After the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb are aligned substantially parallel to each other as shown in Fig. 1(b), the vent 113vnt is said to be closed or sealed, and the volumes 130chmF and 130chmB are hardly connected, thereby avoiding a significant decrease in the sound pressure level (SPL) at low frequencies.

[0016] However, a click noise may occur during the switching. For example, Fig. 2 is a timing diagram of the voltages 2Vo1 and 2Vo2 according to an embodiment of the present application. The voltages 1Vo1 and 1Vo2 may be implemented using the voltages 2Vo1 and 2Vo2.

[0017] To open the vent 113vnt, as shown in Fig. 2, the voltage 2Vo1 applied to the actuator 112Ca instantaneously increases from the common voltage V r 1 during the rise time 2T b when the flap 111Fa swings upward to the high-level voltage V Hi , and the voltage 2Vo2 applied to the actuator 112Cb rapidly decreases from the common voltage V f 2 to the low-level voltage V b during the fall time 2T Lo when the flap 111Fb swings downward. To close the vent 113vnt, the voltage 2Vo1 instantaneously decreases from the high-level voltage V f 1 to the common voltage Vb during the fall time 2T Hi when the flap 111Fa swings downward, and the voltage 2Vo2 instantaneously increases from the low-level voltage V r 2 to the common voltage V Lo during the rise time 2T b when the flap 111Fb swings upward. In one embodiment, the high-level voltage V Hi , the common voltage V b and the low-level voltage V Lo may be 30, 15, and 0 volts (V), respectively.

[0018] Rise time 2T r 1, 2T r 2 and fall time 2T f 1, 2T f Since 2 is short (e.g., approximately 0 seconds), the vent 113vnt opens and closes quickly. Since the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb move at high speed within a very short time, click noise caused by high acoustic nonlinearity may result.

[0019] The click noise can be reduced by slowing down the movement of the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb. For example, FIG. 3 is a timing diagram of voltages 3Vo1 and 3Vo2 according to an embodiment of the present application. Voltages 1Vo1 and 1Vo2 can be implemented using voltages 3Vo1 and 3Vo2.

[0020] Unlike FIG. 2, the rise time 3T (the time during which voltage 3Vo1 gradually rises) r 1, the fall time 3T (the time during which voltage 3Vo1 gradually falls) f 1, the rise time 3T (the time during which voltage 3Vo2 gradually increases) r 2, the fall time 3T (the time during which voltage 3Vo2 gradually decreases) f 2 can be above the threshold. The flap 111Fa gradually swings upward during the rise time 3T r 1 while gradually swinging downward during the fall time 3T f 2. The flap 111Fa swings downward during the fall time 3T f 1 while gradually swinging upward during the rise time 3Tr2. The rise time (e.g., 3T r 1 or 3T r 2), the fall time (e.g., 3T f 1 or 3T f 2) or the formation / closing time of the vent 113vnt is lengthened to smooth the pressure change between the chamber of the wearable sound device 10 and the external environment, and the click noise is reduced.

[0021] That is, the rise time 3T r 1, 3T r 2, the fall time 3T f 1 and 3Tf When 2 is shorter than the threshold value (period) (i.e., 50 ms), the click noise is audible / clear / perceivable to the (normal) human hearing / ear, and the click noise can be regarded as a certain kind of prominent sound. In one embodiment, the threshold value can be 50 milliseconds (ms). In one embodiment, the threshold value can be the length of time of the peak of the click noise audible / clear to the (normal) human ear. In one embodiment, the rise time 3T r 1, 3T r 2, the fall time 3T f 1 or 3T f 2 can be a function of the size of the flap 111Fa or 111Fb. In one embodiment, the rise time 3T r 1, 3T r 2, the fall time 3T f 1 or 3T f 2 can be 200 milliseconds or more. In one embodiment, the rise time (e.g., 3T r 1 or 3T r 2) can be different from the fall time (e.g., 3T f 1 or 3T f 2). In one embodiment, the rise time 3T for the flap 111Fa r 1 or the fall time 3T f 1 is the rise time 3T for the flap 111Fb r 2 or the fall time 3T f 2 can be different.

[0022] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the (measured) root mean square (RMS) noise versus time according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 4 shows the rise time (e.g., 3T r 1, 3T r 2) and the fall time (e.g., 3T f 1, 3T fWhen (2) increases from 100 milliseconds (thin solid line) to 200 milliseconds (thin dashed line), it shows that the RMS noise decreases from 30.9 dBCC2 to 30 dBCC2. Here, dBCC2 represents the CCIR-2K weighting (unity gain at 2 kilohertz) for expressing the relative loudness of the sound perceived by the human ear. Generally, RMS noise exceeding 30 dBCC2 can be heard by (people with special talent in hearing (referred to as golden ears)) and can be regarded as click noise, while RMS noise less than 29 dBCC cannot be heard by (golden ears). RMS noise in the range of 29 - 30 dBCC2 is defined as hardly audible to (golden ears). According to FIG. 4, the longer the rise / fall time, the better the listening experience.

[0023] By adding / inserting a delay between the rise time and the fall time, the click noise can be reduced. For example, FIG. 5 is a timing diagram of voltages 5Vo1 and 5Vo2 according to an embodiment of the present application. Voltages 1Vo1 and 1Vo2 can be implemented using voltages 5Vo1 and 5Vo2.

[0024] Different from FIG. 3, one flap (e.g., 111Fb) can swing after another flap (e.g., 111Fa) swings, and the time required to form / close the vent 113vnt can be extended. As shown by the circled number 1 in FIG. 5, the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb are in a steady state, and the difference in the free ends of the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb in the Z direction is smaller than the thickness of the film structure 111 for closing the vent 113vnt. In one embodiment, the two free ends can physically contact each other. And the rise time 5T r 1 opens. Rise time 5T r During 1, the voltage 5Vo1 of the flap 111Fa rises as shown by the circled number 2, and the vent 113vnt is gradually formed. The flap 111Fb remains stationary until a delay 5DL1 elapses (as shown by the circled number 3, during a part of the rise time 5T r 1). Rise time 5T rIn most of 1, the center of the vent 113vnt moves and can be obtained from the center line of the vent device 10vntD. Descent time 5T f When 2 starts, as indicated by the circled number 4, the voltage 5Vo2 for the flap 111Fb descends for the descent time 5T f During 2, it decreases so that the vent 113vnt is fully opened and pressure neutralization becomes possible. Thereafter, the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb reach a steady state and the vent 113vnt is opened (for a short time) as indicated by the circled number 5. Similarly, the rise time 5T r 2 is the descent time 5T f Overlaps with 1 (or partially coincides) and experiences a delay 5DL2. The rise time (e.g., 5T r 1 or 5T r 2) and the descent time (e.g., 5T f 1 or 5T f 2) are shifted to smooth the pressure change between the chamber of the wearable sound device 10 and the external environment, and the click noise can be reduced.

[0025] In one embodiment, the delay 5DL1 may be equal to or different from the delay 5DL2. In one embodiment, the rise time 5T r 1 (or 5T r 2) start timing and the descent time 5T f 2 (or 5T f 1) start timing, the delay 5DL1 (or 5DL2) is the rise time 5T r 1 (or 5T r 2) or the descent time 5T f 2 (or 5T f 1) and may be less than or equal to. In one embodiment, the delay 5DL1 (or 5DL2) can be 100 milliseconds.

[0026] Figure 4 shows the rise time (e.g., 3T r 1, 3T r 2) and the descent time (e.g., 3T f 1, 3T f2) is 200 milliseconds (thick solid line), and since the delay is 100 milliseconds, it shows that the RMS noise further decreased from 30 dBCC2 to 29.5 dBCC2. According to FIG. 4, the rise time (e.g., 3T r 1, 3T r 2) and the fall time (e.g., 3T f 1, 3T f 2) The delay between (e.g., 5DL1, 5DL2) further improves the listening experience.

[0027] To reduce click noise, FIG. 6 also shows the timing diagrams of voltages 6Vo1, 6Vo2 according to an embodiment of the present application. Voltages 1Vo1, 1Vo2 can be implemented using voltages 6Vo1, 6Vo2. Different from FIG. 2, the start timing of the rise time 6T r 1 (or 6T r 2) does not coincide with the start timing of the fall time 6T f 2 (or 6T f 2). The center of vent 113vnt can move away from the center line of vent device 10vntD during delay 6DL1 or 6DL2. The scheme shown in FIG. 6 can be considered to gradually open and close vent 113vnt.

[0028] The voltage can be raised / lowered in various ways (e.g., linearly or non-linearly). For example, FIG. 7 is a timing diagram of voltages 7Vo1, 7Vo2 according to an embodiment of the present application. Voltages 1Vo1, 1Vo2 can be implemented using voltages 7Vo1, 7Vo2.

[0029] FIGS. 1 and 8 are schematic diagrams of wearable sound device 10 according to an embodiment of the present application. As described above, when wearable sound device 10 operates in the first mode / open mode shown in FIG. 1(a), a voltage 1Vo1 higher than the common voltage V b is applied to operating part 112Ca, and the common voltage V bBy applying a voltage 1Vo2 lower than that to the operating part 112Cb to the operating part 112Cb, the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb are inclined in opposite directions to each other, and the vent 113vnt has a first opening width. When the wearable sound device 10 operates in the second mode / closed mode shown in FIGS. 1(b) and 8(b), by applying a common voltage Vb to the operating parts 112Ca and 112Cb, the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb remain horizontal / parallel, and the vent 113vnt has a second opening width.

[0030] When the wearable sound device 10 operates in the third mode / comfortable mode shown in FIG. 8(a), unlike the first mode / open mode or the second mode / closed mode, the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb hang neutrally / loosely by grounding or floating the operating parts 112Ca and 112Cb, incline below the horizontal plane, and the vent 113vnt has a third opening width. The first opening width is the largest among the three, and the second opening width is narrower than the third opening width. The small vent 113vnt created in the third mode / comfortable mode can relieve the pressure accumulated in the external auditory canal to improve comfort and save power.

[0031] As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 6, or 7, in addition to switching between the first mode / open mode and the second mode / closed mode, the wearable sound device 10 that switches to / from the third mode / comfortable mode can operate quietly without producing a large clicking sound. For example, FIG. 9 is a timing diagram of voltages 9Vo1 and 9Vo2 according to an embodiment of the present application. The voltages 1Vo1 and 1Vo2 can be implemented using the voltages 9Vo1 and 9Vo2.

[0032] To open the vent 113vnt (i.e., change from the third mode / comfort mode to the first mode / open mode), as shown in FIG. 9, in order to swing the flap 111Fa upward, during the rise time 9T r 1, the voltage 9Vo1 applied to the operating part 112Ca is a low-level voltage V Lo to a high-level voltage V Hiwhile being gradually raised, the voltage 9Vo2 and the flap 111Fb do not change. To loosen the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb (i.e., from the first mode / open mode to the third mode / comfort mode), in order to swing the flap 111Fa downward, the fall time 9T f during 1, the voltage 9Vo1 gradually decreases from the high-level voltage V Hi to the low-level voltage V Lo while the voltage 9Vo2 and the flap 111Fb do not change. The rise time 9T r 1, the fall time 9T f 1 or the time for forming / closing the vent 113vnt can be made longer to reduce click noise.

[0033] FIG. 10 is a timing diagram of the voltages 10Vo1 and 10Vo2 according to an embodiment of the present application. The voltages 1Vo1 and 1Vo2 can be implemented using the voltages 10Vo1 and 10Vo2.

[0034] To close the vent 113vnt (i.e., from the third mode / comfort mode to the second mode / closed mode), as shown in FIG. 10, before the voltage 10Vo2 applied to the actuator 112Cb gradually increases from the low-level voltage V r to the common voltage V Lo during the rise time 10T b 2, the voltage 10Vo1 applied to the actuator 112Ca can gradually increase from the low-level voltage V r to the common voltage V Lo during the rise time 10T b 1. To loosen the flaps 111Fa and 111Fb (i.e., from the second mode / closed mode to the third mode / comfort mode), before the voltage 10Vo2 gradually decreases from the common voltage V f to the low-level voltage V b during the fall time 10T Lo 2, the voltage 10Vo1 can gradually decrease from the common voltage V f to the low-level voltage V b during the fall time 10T Locan be gradually raised. Additionally, since the flap 111Fb swings after the flap 111Fa has already started to swing, the rise time 10T r between 1 and 10T r a delay 10DL1 or a fall time 10T f between 1 and 10T f a delay 10DL2 between 2 occurs. These can reduce click noise.

[0035] In one embodiment, the delay 10DL1 or 10DL2 can be implemented using the delay 5DL1 or 5DL2. In one embodiment, the delay 10DL1 may be the same as or different from the delay 10DL2. In one embodiment, the delay 10DL1 (or 10DL2) is less than the rise time 10T r 1, 10T r 2 (or the fall time 10T f 2, 10T f 1).

[0036] As the wearable sound device 10 of the present invention, any mechanism capable of forming or inhibiting a vent can be used. Details or modifications of the wearable sound device, vent device, or drive circuit are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Nos. 17 / 842810, 17 / 344980, 17 / 344983, 17 / 720333, 18 / 172346, 18 / 303599, and 18 / 366637, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety and form a part of this specification.

[0037] The use of terms indicating order such as "first" and "second" does not in itself imply that one element has a higher priority, precedence, or order over another element, nor does it imply the time series in which steps of a method are performed or the necessity for all elements to be present simultaneously. These terms are merely used as labels to distinguish an element with a certain name from another element with the same name. The technical features described in the following embodiments can be mixed or combined in various ways as long as there is no contradiction between them.

[0038] In summary, the change in the size of the vent over time is reduced, and audible click noise is reduced. This is achieved by extending the rise time or fall time for the flap to slow down its movement or moving two adjacent flaps asynchronously / non-simultaneously. Therefore, the present invention can improve the user experience.

[0039] Those skilled in the art will readily understand that numerous modifications and changes can be made to the apparatus and method while maintaining the teachings of the present invention. Therefore, the above disclosure should be construed as being limited only by the limitations of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A first flap configured to be actuated to swing upward during the rise time; A second flap disposed on the opposite side of the first flap and configured to be actuated to swing downward during the fall time; A first actuating part disposed on the first flap; A second actuating part disposed on the second flap; A vent device comprising: The vent device configured to form a vent is disposed within or configured to be disposed within a wearable sound device; The vent is formed by applying a first voltage to the first actuating part and a second voltage to the second actuating part such that the vent device gradually forms the vent.

2. The vent device according to claim 1, wherein the rise time or the fall time is 50 milliseconds or more.

3. The vent device according to claim 1, wherein the rise time or the fall time is longer than a threshold value so that no significant sound is perceived by human hearing when the vent device forms the vent.

4. The first voltage applied to the first actuating part gradually increases during the rise time and the second voltage applied to the second actuating part gradually decreases during the fall time so that the first flap gradually swings upward and the vent of the vent device gradually opens.

5. The vent device according to claim 1, wherein a delay is inserted between the start timing of the rise time and the start timing of the fall time.

6. The vent device according to claim 1, wherein the rise time overlaps the fall time.

7. The delay between the start timing of the rise time and the start timing of the fall time is less than or equal to the rise time or the fall time, the vent device according to claim 1.

8. The first voltage applied to the first operating part does not change during a part of the fall time, and the second voltage applied to the second operating part does not change during a part of the rise time, the vent device according to claim 1.

9. One of the first flap and the second flap swings after the other of the first flap and the second flap has already started to swing, or The center of the vent of the vent device deviates from the center line of the vent of the vent device during most of the rise time or most of the fall time, the vent device according to claim 1.

10. The vent device is driven by a drive circuit, The drive circuit is configured to output the first voltage to the first operating part and output the second voltage to the second operating part, the vent device according to claim 1.

11. Actuating so that the first flap gradually swings upward during the rise time, Actuating so that the second flap gradually swings downward during the fall time, A vent method including: The vent method is applied for a vent device, The vent device is arranged in a wearable sound device or configured to be arranged in the wearable sound device, The vent device is configured to form a vent, The vent device includes the first flap and the second flap, a vent method.

12. The rise time or the fall time is 50 milliseconds or more, the vent method according to claim 11.

13. The venting method according to claim 11, wherein the rise time or the fall time is longer than a threshold value so that no significant sound is perceived by human hearing when the venting device forms the vent.

14. applying a first voltage to a first actuating part on the first flap; applying a second voltage to a second actuating part on the second flap; comprising The venting method according to claim 11, wherein the first voltage gradually increases during the rise time and the second voltage gradually decreases during the fall time so that the venting device gradually opens the vent.

15. The venting method according to claim 11, comprising inserting a delay between the start timing of the rise time and the start timing of the fall time.

16. The venting method according to claim 11, wherein the rise time overlaps with the fall time.

17. A first flap configured to be actuated to swing upward during the rise time or to swing downward during the fall time; A second flap disposed adjacent to the first flap; A venting device comprising The venting device configured to form a vent is disposed within a wearable sound device or configured to be disposed within a wearable sound device. The venting device, wherein the rise time or the fall time is 50 milliseconds or more.

18. The venting device according to claim 17, wherein the second flap is configured to remain stationary during the rise time or the fall time.

19. The second flap is configured to be actuated so as to gradually swing upward during the second rising time, and the delay between the start timing of the rising time and the start timing of the second rising time of the second flap is equal to or less than the rising time or the second rising time. The vent device according to claim 17.

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