Earcups and headphones

Abstract

The invention relates to an ear cup 1 for headphones 10 having a housing 1.1 for containing electroacoustic components and acoustic damping material, The housing 1.1 comprises a housing base body 2 for accommodating electroacoustic components and a main shell module 3 for accommodating sound-absorbing material, the main shell module 3 being mechanically connected to the housing base body 2, a) the housing base body 2 can be added in a modular manner, and a first housing module 2.1 and a second housing module 2.2 are provided, the first housing module 2.1 and the second housing module 2.2 each being mechanically and electrically connectable to the housing base body 2 in an alternating manner as different construction stages, and / or b) in order to provide different expansion stages, said housing 1.1 comprises said main shell module 3, b1) the main shell module 3 is modularly replaceable and at least one first shell replacement module 3.1 is provided which is mechanically connectable to the housing base body 2 as an alternative to the main shell module 3; and / or b2) the main shell module 3 can be modularly supplemented and is provided with at least one first shell exchange module 3.1, said first shell exchange module 3.1 being mechanically connectable to said main shell module 3; Regarding ear cup 1.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an earcup for a headphone having a housing containing an electroacoustic component and a sound absorbing material. [Background technology]

[0002] An ear cup for headphones is already known from DE 1 209 163 B.

[0003] The invention is based on the problem of designing and arranging ear cups for headphones in such a way that simple manufacturing is ensured while at the same time reducing costs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to the present invention, this problem is solved by providing an earcup for headphones having a housing for accommodating an electro-acoustic component and an acoustic damping material, said housing comprising a housing base body for accommodating the electro-acoustic component and a main shell module for accommodating the acoustic damping material, said main shell module being mechanically connected to said housing base body, a) the housing base body can be added in a modular manner, and a first housing module and a second housing module are provided, each of which can be mechanically and electrically connected to the housing base body as an alternative expansion stage; and / or b) the housing has a main shell module to provide different expansion stages; b1) the main shell module is modularly replaceable, and at least one first shell replacement module is provided that is mechanically connectable to the housing base body as an alternative to the main shell module; and / or b2) The solution is that the main shell module can be added in a modular manner and has at least one first shell replacement module, the first shell replacement module being mechanically connectable to the main shell module.

[0005] This means that the electronic and acoustic functions of the earcups can be expanded simply and advantageously by using a housing module or main shell module and a shell exchange module. Electronic functions can include features such as active noise cancellation (ANC) and / or active noise reduction (ANR). The main shell module together with the shell exchange module ensures a change in the internal volume of the main shell module. This ensures different acoustic attenuation characteristics of the earcups. Therefore, by changing or using different modules, it is possible to switch between different expansion stages.

[0006] Also the problem is solved by headphones consisting of an ear cup and a second ear, wherein the housing base body and / or the main shell module and / or the shell replacement module of the two ear cups have the same shape, in particular the same bearing arrangement and connection arrangement.

[0007] It may also be advantageous if the housing base body and / or the housing module and / or the main shell module and / or the shell replacement module have a plane of symmetry E and are mirror-symmetrical with respect to the plane of symmetry E. Particular attention is paid to bearing and connection arrangements, such as mirror-symmetrical mounts for speaker-microphones or mirror-symmetrical mounts for headbands. The symmetry of the configurations or shapes used ensures that the same housing base body or the same main shell module or shell replacement module can be used for both the left and right ear cups. Speaker-microphones may also be arranged on both the left and right ear cups. Design elements, such as colors, color patterns or lettering, are excluded from the connection arrangements.

[0008] For this purpose, it can be advantageous if the housing base body has at least one pair of bearing mounts for a headband and / or at least one pair of mounts for a speaker-microphone arranged on the outside of the housing base body, whereby the bearing mounts and / or the mounts are designed symmetrically with respect to the plane of symmetry E. This special symmetry ensures that the ear cups can be changed between left and right positions on the ears, and independently of this, the speaker-microphone can be changed between left and right positions. For the speaker-microphone connection, microphone input contacts on or in the housing base body are assigned to the speaker-microphone.

[0009] It may also be advantageous if the housing module comprises an electroacoustic component and the housing base body comprises an electroacoustic component, whereby the electroacoustic component is capable of active contact with the electroacoustic component, thereby allowing switching between different electroacoustic expansion stages, and various electroacoustic or electronic functions such as active noise cancellation (ANC) and / or active noise reduction (ANR) to be used.

[0010] Advantageously, plug-in contacts are provided via which said active contact can be established, thus serving as an interface between the electroacoustic component of the housing module and the electroacoustic component of the housing base body.

[0011] It may be of great importance in the present invention that the first housing module comprises at least one microphone as an electroacoustic component, preferably at least a pair of ambient noise microphones are provided so as to recreate the spatial impression of a noisy environment.

[0012] With regard to the design and arrangement according to the invention, at least one second shell module is provided, a) The second shell module can be mechanically connected to the housing base body as an alternative to the main shell module or as an alternative to the first shell exchange module, or, b) If the second shell module can be mechanically connected to the first shell exchange module, this may be advantageous. This enables a wide variation in the level of acoustic attenuation configuration.

[0013] Also, it may be advantageous if the main shell module has an overall height S0 and the first shell exchange module has an overall height S1, whereby the overall height S0 and the overall height S1 are different. In this way, the overall height of the acoustic attenuation stage or the acoustic attenuation expansion stage can be varied significantly.

[0014] Also, it may be advantageous if a second shell exchange module having an overall height S2 is provided, whereby the overall height S0, the overall height S1, and the overall height S2 are different. By using different heights, a wide expansion stage of acoustic attenuation can be achieved. Therefore, it is possible to replace the main shell module with shell exchange modules of different heights or to supplement it with shell exchange modules of the same height.

[0015] Also, it may be advantageous if S1 = f1 * S0 and / or S2 = f2 * S0, and X1 < f1 < Y1 and X2 < f2 < Y2 are applicable for all of the overall height S0, the overall height S1, and / or the overall height S2. In this way, the range of the expansion stage regarding acoustic attenuation can be optimally expanded. Each main shell module, first shell exchange module, or second shell exchange module includes an acoustic attenuation material. Thereby, the acoustic attenuation material is provided with a thickness corresponding to the overall height S0, overall height S1, and / or overall height S2 of the corresponding module.

[0016] It can be advantageous if the housing base body has a plug socket for plugging an electrical connection cable into the first ear cup. The plug can be manually connected to and disconnected from the plug socket. Both ear cups can be electrically connected via the connection cable.

[0017] Further advantages and details of the invention are set forth in the claims and specification and shown in the drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ear cup. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the ear cup shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3a] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shell replacement module. [Figure 3b] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shell replacement module. [Figure 4] A rough sketch of headphones. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The earcup 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a housing base body 2 and a main shell module 3. The housing base body 2 together with the main shell module 3 form the earcup 1. The earcup 1, i.e. the housing base body 2 and the main shell module 3, have a common plane of symmetry E. With respect to the common plane of symmetry E, the earcup 1 is mirror-symmetric. This applies in particular to the bearing mounts 4a, 4b for attaching the earcup 1 to a headband 9 and to the mounts 5a, 5b for the speaker-microphone 6, as shown in Figure 4.

[0020] Electroacoustic components such as speakers are housed in the housing base body 2. The housing base body 2 is supplemented by a first housing module 2.1 with additional electroacoustic components such as microphones 2.3, 2.4 for ambient noise. The first housing module 2.1 is operatively connected to the housing base body 2 via plug-in contacts 2.6, 2.6'. Both the first housing module 2.1 and the housing base body 2 have corresponding or interacting plug-in contacts 2.6, 2.6'. The housing base body 2, together with the second housing module 2.1, forms a first extension stage of the earcup 1 in terms of its electroacoustic properties and electroacoustic capabilities. As an alternative to the first housing module 2.1, a second housing module 2.2 can be used in the modular design. In this case, the first housing module 2.1 is replaced by the second housing module 2.2. The second housing module 2.2 can have additional electroacoustic properties such as noise cancellation or noise reduction. The second housing module 2.2 has the same design as the first housing module 2.1 and is similarly electrically connected to the housing base body 2 or its plug-in contacts 2.6 via plug-in contacts 2.6'. Corresponding contacts 2.6 are provided on the side of each housing module 2.1, 2.2 (not shown).

[0021] The exchange of the two housing modules 2.1, 2.2 is shown in stylized form in the example embodiment Fig. 1, while the second housing module 2.2, arranged in a modular design in the housing base body 2, is presented in a top view in the example embodiment Fig. 2.

[0022] According to the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the earcup 1 also comprises a main shell module 3 which faces the housing modules 2.1, 2.2 and is connected to the housing base body 2. The main shell module 3 is primarily used to accommodate sound absorbing means for hearing protection purposes. According to the embodiment shown in Figure 1, the main shell module 3 has an overall height SO.

[0023] As an alternative or supplement to the main shell module 3, according to Fig. 3a, a first shell replacement module 3.1 is provided which has an overall height S1 which is approximately 30% greater than the overall height S0. The first shell replacement module 3.1 can be attached or fixed in a modular design to the housing base body 2 as an alternative to the main shell module 3. It is also contemplated that the first shell replacement module 3.1 is arranged or attached in a modular design to the main shell module 3 in addition to the main shell module 3. In either case, the existing height S0 of the main shell module 3 is increased to a value S1 greater than 0 or to the value S0 + S1.

[0024] A second shell replacement module 3.2 is also provided with a modular design. The second shell replacement module 3.2 has an overall height S2 that is approximately twice the overall height S1. The second shell replacement module 3.2 can also be attached to the main shell module 3 or the first shell replacement module 3.1 in a modular design. Alternatively, the second shell replacement module 3.2 can be used instead of the main shell module 3 or instead of the first shell replacement module 3.1. In this way, various heights can be realized in the modular design in order to match the desired sound attenuation.

[0025] Design Example 4 shows a basic diagram of headphones 10 having an ear cup 1 and a second ear cup 1.2. The ear cups 1, 1.2 are connected to each other via a headband 9 or are attached to the ends of the headband 9. The ear cups 1, 1.2 can be used or attached to the right and left sides of the headband 9 by having a symmetry plane E as shown in FIG. 1. The ear cups 1, 1.2 are connected to each other via a connecting cable 7. The connecting cable 7 is electrically connected to the corresponding plug sockets 2.5, 2.5' of the respective ear cups 1, 1.2 via corresponding plugs 7.1, 7.1'. The contacts 2.6 thus formed can be easily released manually to exchange the respective ear cups 1, 1.2. According to FIG. 4, the right-side ear cup 1 also has a speaker-microphone 6 attached to the housing base body 2 via a holder 5b as shown in FIG. 1.

[0026] By forming manually detachable contacts 2.6 between the respective ear cups 1, 1.2 and the connecting cable 7, the respective parts, i.e. the respective ear cups 1, 1.2 or the connecting cable 7, can be easily replaced.

[0027] 1 ear cup 1.1 Housing 1.2 Housing base body 2 Housing base body 2.1 First housing module 2.2 Second Housing Module 2.3 Microphones, ambient noise microphones 2.4 Microphones, ambient noise microphones 2.5 Plug sockets, contacts 2.5' plug socket, contacts 2.6 Contacts, plug-in contacts 2.6' Contact Plug-in Contact 3 Main Shell Module 3.1 First Shell Replacement Module 3.2 Second Shell Replacement Module 4a Bearing mount 4b Bearing mount 5a Mount 5b Mount 6 microphones, speaker microphones 7 Connection cable 7.1 Plug 7.1" plug 9. Headband 10. Headphones E Symmetry plane S0 Overall height S1 Overall Height S2 Overall Height

Claims

1. An earcup (1) for headphones (10) having a housing (1.1) for containing electroacoustic components and acoustic damping material, The housing (1.1) comprises a housing base body (2) for accommodating electroacoustic components and a main shell module (3) having an overall height S0 for accommodating sound-absorbing material, the main shell module (3) being mechanically connected to the housing base body (2), a) the housing (1.1) has a main shell module (3) to provide different expansion stages for sound attenuation, a1) the main shell module (3) is modularly replaceable and at least one first shell replacement module (3.1) is provided with an overall height S1, the first shell replacement module (3.1) includes an acoustic damping material and is mechanically connectable to the housing base body (2) as an alternative to the main shell module (3), and the overall height S0 is different from the overall height S1; and / or a2) the main shell module (3) can be added in a modular manner, and at least one first shell replacement module (3.1) is provided, which includes an acoustic damping material and has an overall height S1, and which can be mechanically connected to the main shell module (3), and which has a height S0 different from the overall height S1; and / or b) the housing base body (2) has a symmetry plane E and is designed to be mirror-symmetrical with respect to the symmetry plane E, whereby the housing base body (2) has at least a pair of mounts (5a, 5b) for a speaker-microphone (6) arranged on the outside of the housing base body (2), the mounts (5a, 5b) being designed symmetrically with respect to the symmetry plane E; An ear cup (1) characterized in that:

2. the main shell module (3) and / or the first shell exchange module (3.1) have a plane of symmetry E and are designed to be mirror-symmetrical with respect to said plane of symmetry E; An earcup (1) according to claim 1 .

3. The housing base body (2) has at least a pair of bearing mounts (4a, 4b) for a headband (9) arranged on the outside of the housing base body (2), the bearing mounts (4a, 4b) being designed symmetrically with respect to the symmetry plane E. An earcup (1) according to claim 1 .

4. The housing base body (2) can be added in a modular manner, and a first housing module (2.1) and a second housing module (2.2) are provided, and the first housing module (2.1) and the second housing module (2.2) can be mechanically and electrically connected to the housing base body (2) alternately as different configuration stages, each of the first housing module (2.1) and the second housing module (2.2) has an electroacoustic component, the housing base body (2) has an electroacoustic component, and the electroacoustic component of the housing base body (2) is capable of active contact with the electroacoustic component of the first housing module (2.1) and the electroacoustic component of the second housing module (2.2); An earcup (1) according to claim 1 .

5. plug-in contacts (2.6, 2.6') are provided, via which said active contact can be established; Earcup (1) according to claim 4.

6. The housing base body (2) can be added in a modular manner, and a first housing module (2.1) is provided, and the first housing module (2.1) can be mechanically and electrically connected to the housing base body (2) alternately as different configuration stages, The first housing module (2.1) comprises at least one microphone (2.3, 2.4) as an electroacoustic component. An earcup (1) according to claim 1 .

7. At least one second shell exchange module (3.2) is provided, a) the second shell replacement module (3.2) is mechanically connectable to the housing base body (2) as an alternative to the main shell module (3) or as an alternative to the first shell replacement module (3.1), or b) said second shell exchange module (3.2) is mechanically connectable to said first shell exchange module (3.1); An earcup (1) according to claim 1 .

8. the main shell module (3) has an overall height S0 and the first shell replacement module (3.1) has an overall height S1, the overall height S0 and the overall height S1 being different; An earcup (1) according to claim 1 .

9. a second shell exchange module (3.2) having a total height S2, said total height S0 being different from said total height S1 and said total height S2; Earcup (1) according to claim 8.

10. The total height S0, the total height S1, and / or the total height S2 are different from the total height S0, the total height S1, and / or the total height S2. Earcup (1) according to claim 9.

11. The housing base body (2) has a plug socket (2.5) for the plug (7.1) of the electrical connection cable (7) to the first ear cup (1.2), An earcup (1) according to claim 1 .

12. An ear cup (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11, A headphone (10) comprising a second ear cup (1.2), The headphones (10) have the housing base body (2) and / or the main shell module (3) and / or the first shell replacement module (3.1) of the two ear cups (1, 1.2) having the same shape.

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