Device, system, and method for listening to an audio content in a high-temperature environment incompatible with the operation of electronic devices

Abstract

The invention consists of a complex device (0) for listening to an audio content in a sauna, wherein said complex device comprises a flexible tube (1), that comprises a first section (11) and a pair of second sections (12), wherein each one of said second sections is shaped in such a way that it can be coupled with an ear of a person staying inside said sauna, and a container (3) shaped to contain an audio content player, wherein said container can be positioned outside said high-temperature environment, and wherein said container is coupled to a terminal portion of said first section and is configured to convey towards said pair of second sections of the flexible tube sound waves generated by the reproduction of said audio content by said audio content player.

Description

[0001] DEVICE, SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR LISTENING TO AN AUDIO CONTENT IN A HIGH-TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENT INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE OPERATION OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES

[0002] DESCRIPTION

[0003] The present invention relates to a complex device, a system, and a method for listening to an audio content in a high-temperature environment, in particular a sauna, where the temperature is so high that it may damage, or inhibit the operation of, electronic devices such as mobile phones, audio file readers, and the like.

[0004] As is known, personal entertainment devices, in particular audio file players, have now become a part of our daily life. Due to this trend, people always carry with them, wherever they go, one of such electronic devices to accompany their activities with an audio background, in particular a musical background.

[0005] A musical background is often useful to relax, especially under particular conditions. For example, a sauna provides relaxing environmental conditions wherein a person may want to enjoy an audio and / or musical accompaniment. However, in such environments there are conditions that may adversely affect the operation of electronic devices; as a matter of fact, the operating temperature of a sauna is in excess of 70°C. In such a hot environment, normal electronic devices for personal entertainment cannot operate and are at risk of permanent damage. With such temperatures, in fact, the semiconductors in the device, which also generate heat, are no longer able to dissipate the heat into the surrounding environment, reaching temperatures that may even be much higher than 75°C. As is known, this is typically the maximum temperature that can be withstood by semiconductors designed for use in consumer electronic products. The possible consequences of the use of electronic devices in a sauna are therefore apparent.

[0006] For this reason, a sauna user wanting to listen to audio or music while staying inside said sauna will necessarily have to install powerful loudspeakers outside. Such loudspeakers will have to be powerful enough to be able to propagate the desired audio content into the sauna, through the walls and the air vents of said sauna, for the audio content to be heard inside. Of course, such a solution has many drawbacks.

[0007] One of such drawbacks is that, in a typically quiet place like a relaxing environment it will be necessary to install an entertainment source that will produce acoustic pollution throughout the external environment surrounding the sauna.

[0008] Another drawback lies in the fact that very often there is more than one person in a sauna. The above-mentioned solution generates the problem that all the occupants of the sauna are compelled to hear the same audio content coming from the outside, even if they do not want to listen to that type of audio content or if they want to enjoy a silent environment.

[0009] The present invention aims at solving these and other problems by providing a complex device, a system, and a method as set out in the appended claims.

[0010] The basic idea of the present invention is to provide an audio content within a sauna, possibly different for each occupant, without using any electronic devices located inside the sauna, but, on the contrary, by conveying sound waves to the ears of the person within the sauna through a plastic duct that receives the sound waves generated by an audio file player apparatus located outside the sauna.

[0011] This makes it possible to listen privately to audio contents within the sauna, while avoiding the use of loudspeakers positioned outside the sauna.

[0012] Further advantageous features of the present invention are set out in the appended claims.

[0013] These features as well as further advantages of the present invention will become more apparent in the light of the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof as shown in the annexed drawings, which are provided herein merely by way of non-limiting example, wherein:

[0014] - Fig. l is a schematic view of the inside of a sauna comprising a system according to the present invention;

[0015] - Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an outer wall of the sauna of Fig. 1;

[0016] - Figs. 3,3A,3B illustrate different variants of a detail of the connection between the inside and the outside of the sauna according to the invention shown in Fig. 1 or Fig. 2, which provides a coupling between an apparatus capable of reproducing an audio content, located outside said sauna, and a plastic duct substantially located inside said sauna and receiving the sound waves generated by said apparatus, due to the fact that said duct comes out partially from a hole in the wall of the sauna shown in Fig. 1 or Fig.

[0017] 2.

[0018] In this description, any reference to “an embodiment” will indicate that a particular configuration, structure or feature is comprised in at least one embodiment of the invention. Therefore, expressions such as “in an embodiment” and the like, which may be found in different parts of this description, will not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Moreover, any particular configuration, structure or feature solving the same technical problem according to the teachings of the present invention may be combined in one or more embodiments as deemed appropriate by a person skilled in the art. The references below are therefore used only for simplicity ’ s sake, and shall not limit the protection scope or extension of the various embodiments. With reference to Fig. 1, the following will describe an inside environment of a sauna S comprising two lateral walls WL, a back wall W, a front wall comprising an entrance, and a ceiling (not shown in the images). Within the sauna S there may be at least one bench P, on which the users of the sauna S can sit. The sauna S comprises, of course, all other elements which are necessary for its operation, and which, for simplicity’s sake, are not shown because they are not specifically related to the present invention. A complex device 0 according to the invention is positioned inside the sauna S, which permits listening to an audio content in a high-temperature environment like, for example, said sauna S.

[0019] A first arrangement of the elements constituting the complex device 0 comprises a flexible tube 1, preferably made of silicone rubber, which can withstand operating temperatures up to 200-230 °C. Alternatively, the tube 1 may also be made, at least partly, of a plastic material with good resistance to high temperatures, e.g. one of the following materials: polyphenyl sulfone (PPSU), which has very good heat resistance and can withstand temperatures up to 180-200°C. It is in fact very resistant and maintains its shape and mechanical properties even at high temperatures; polyetherimide (PEI), which is known for its thermal stability, and which can resist to temperatures up to 200°C; polysulfone (PSU), which can withstand temperatures up to 180-190°C and has good chemical and mechanical resistance; polyethersulfone (PES), which is a heat-resistant plastic that can withstand temperatures up to 180°C, offering good chemical and thermal resistance.

[0020] Preferably, the flexible tube 1 may be produced from one or more of the above materials by extrusion.

[0021] As shown in Figure 1, the tube 1 comprises a first (main) section 11 and at least one second (terminal) section 12 so shaped that it can be coupled with a person’s ear; preferably, the tube 1 comprises a pair of terminal sections 12, wherein the diameter of the initial section is greater than that of each one of the two terminal sections 12; such terminal sections 12 have, conveniently, an arched shape. In one possible embodiment of the present invention, said tube 1 comprises a bifurcation element H, where the first section 11 branches off into the pair of terminal sections 12. This bifurcation element H is adapted to divide sound waves flowing therethrough, and is preferably shaped as an upside-down “Y”. In particular, this element H is made of one of the above-mentioned plastic materials, and can be made more rigid by charging the plastic with a small quantity of glass resins. It is clear that the diameter of the different ends of the bifurcation element H must be such as to perfectly match (e.g. by interference fit) the first section 11 and the pair of terminal sections 12. In another embodiment, the bifurcation element is made as one piece (e.g. by moulding of silicone rubber) with the first section 11 and with the pair of terminal sections 12. It is clear that also in this embodiment it is necessary to pay the utmost attention when designing the tubes, so as to cause the energy of the sound waves that will propagate in said tube to separate homogeneously along the tube 1 and evenly reach both terminal sections 12, each one comprising an earpiece 2 positioned in the terminal part thereof, which will be further described hereinafter. This requisite, as will be further explained below, is important when listening to music. This is achieved by appropriately designing the inside of the tube to ensure uniform sound distribution.

[0022] Each one of the terminal portions 12 extending from the bifurcation element H or from the main tube 1 is equipped with a perforated cap or earpiece 2 to be inserted in the ear of the user of the sauna S. The element 2 can be thermally decoupled from the terminal portions 12 by means of a cylindrical gasket made of thermally insulating material, so as to prevent the heat accumulated by the tubes 11 and 12 to reach the user’s ears.

[0023] Fig. 1 also shows, in transparency, an audio file player R, which will be further described hereinafter.

[0024] In addition, Fig. 1 shows a second arrangement of elements constituting the complex device 0 according to the invention for listening to a (second) audio content in a high-temperature environment, which is equal to the previously described arrangement and uses the same reference symbols as those already used for the previously illustrated parts.

[0025] The provision of inserting a second arrangement, or more arrangements, of elements adapted to permit listening to an audio content inside a sauna comes from the idea of permitting several users of the sauna to listen to different audio or music contents (as will be further explained below).

[0026] Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of an outer wall of the sauna of Fig. 1. In this figure, the elements already shown in Fig. 1, whether in clear or in transparency, are identified by the same reference symbols. In Fig. 2 one can also see, in addition to the elements already described, a container 3 (or two containers in the variant shown), preferably made of wood, which is positioned on the back wall W of the sauna S in proximity to a hole drilled in said back wall W, from which a small portion of the first section 11 of the tube 1 can protrude (optionally with slight interference between the diameter of the tube 1 and the diameter of the hole).

[0027] In order to seal the inside of the sauna S from the outside environment, a gasket may be fitted into the hole drilled in said back wall W to ensure that the air within the sauna S will not leak out through the hole in the back wall. In the container 3, the user of the sauna S can put an audio file player R, which generates sound waves to be conveyed through the tube 1 towards the ears of the user of said audio content player R.

[0028] The way in which these sound waves, generated by the loudspeaker contained in said player R, are picked up by the tube 1 will be described in more detail with reference to Fig. 3.

[0029] In summary, the complex device 0 comprises the following elements:

[0030] - the flexible tube 1, which comprises the first section 11 and the second section 12, wherein said second section 12 is so shaped that it can be coupled with an ear of a person staying inside the high-temperature environment, i.e. the sauna S;

[0031] - the container 3, shaped to contain an audio content player R, wherein said container 3 can be positioned outside said high-temperature environment S, and wherein said container 3 is coupled to said first section 11 and is configured to convey towards the second section 12 of the flexible tube 1 sound waves generated by the reproduction of said audio content by said audio content player R.

[0032] This makes it possible to listen privately to customized audio contents inside the sauna S, while avoiding the use of loudspeakers positioned outside the sauna S.

[0033] When using the invention, before entering the sauna S the user of the sauna S (or both users, when there are two of them as in the embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2) selects on his / her own audio content player R the audio content that he / she wants to listen to inside the sauna S and starts the reproduction. The user then puts it into the container 3, appropriately coupling it to the protruding end of the tube 1, and enters the sauna S. Within the latter, possibly after sitting on the bench P, the user picks up both ends 12 of the tube 1 and puts the earpieces 2 in his / her ears.

[0034] In other words, a method for listening to an audio content through the complex device 0 according to the invention in a high-temperature environment (e.g. the sauna S) comprises the following steps:

[0035] - configuring an audio content player R to reproduce at least one selected audio content;

[0036] - inserting said audio content player R in a container 3 comprised in the complex device 0 and positioned outside said sauna S;

[0037] - entering the sauna S and listening to said at least one selected audio content through a pair of second sections 12 comprised in said complex device 0, each one of which is shaped in such a way that it can be coupled with a person’s ear.

[0038] In this manner, the sound waves generated outside the sauna S can arrive at the user’s ears with good sound quality, ensured by the way in which the loudspeaker of the audio file player R is coupled to the portion of the tube 1 that protrudes from the hole in the back wall W.

[0039] For this purpose, couplings may be provided which can fully pick up the sound waves generated by the audio file player R. Such types of couplings will be further described also with reference to Fig. 3.

[0040] It is here worth mentioning the possibility, for the user staying inside the sauna S, to adjust the intensity of the sound waves reaching his / her ears by throttling the diameter of the first section 11, e.g. by means of a sound flow regulator externally surrounding the section 11 with a chamber in which said first section is placed. The inside dimensions of said chamber are changed as a knurled wheel is turned, which, in co-operation with the inner shape (e.g. a triangular prism) of the chamber, will cause the latter to become either narrower or wider according to the direction of rotation of the wheel.

[0041] If the tube 1 is equipped with a sound flow regulator, before entering the sauna S the user will have to set the volume of his / her audio file player R to a medium-to-high level. Should then the volume of the incoming sound be too high, the user will have the possibility to turn it down without having to exit the sauna S. In other words, the complex device preferably comprises also adjustment means configured to vary a cross-section of the flexible tube 1, so as to control an average energy of the sound waves emitted by the audio content player R. This will advantageously allow the user to adjust the volume of the sound waves from inside the sauna S without having to use any electronic devices, so that audio contents can be privately listened to within said sauna S. It is thus possible to avoid the use of any loudspeakers positioned outside the sauna S.

[0042] In combination with or as an alternative to the above, the first section 11 of the flexible tube 1 preferably comprises a first diaphragm positioned therein to block any air flows. In particular, the diaphragm may be made of the same material as the flexible tube, and may be thin enough and able to flex in the sound wave direction only, thus blocking a continuous air flow in the opposite direction.

[0043] This is advantageously useful to protect the audio content player R from a hot air flow coming from within the sauna S and produced by convective circulation, thus allowing the user to listen privately to audio contents inside said sauna S. At any rate, the purpose of this additional provision is to limit the operating temperature of the audio content player R, which, remaining advantageously outside the sauna, will easily be able to dissipate the heat received from the tube 1.

[0044] Also with reference to Fig. 3, and in combination with or as an alternative to the above, the complex device 0 preferably comprises a terminal part of the flexible tube 11, called head 4, positioned at the extremity of the first section 11 of the flexible tube 1, and configured to pick up the sound waves generated by the audio content player R. Thus, there is no direct contact between said audio content player R and the flexible tube 11, advantageously reducing the heat transferred to said audio content player R from within the sauna S, and making it possible to listen privately to audio contents inside the sauna S. This makes it possible to avoid the use of any loudspeakers positioned outside said sauna S.

[0045] With reference to Figure 3 A, which shows a detail X of the complex device 0, said head 4 is preferably bell-shaped for the purpose of increasing the energy of the sound waves picked up by the head 4, so as to advantageously improve the private audio listening experience inside the sauna S. In this way, it is possible to avoid using loudspeakers positioned outside the sauna S.

[0046] It must be pointed out that the flexible tubes 1 may also pass through the lateral walls WL, as opposed to the back wall W, of the sauna, without however departing from the teachings of the present invention.

[0047] A first variant is shown in Fig. 3B; for brevity, the following description will only highlight those parts which make this and the next variants different from the above-described main embodiment; for the same reason, wherever possible the same reference numerals, with the addition of one or more apostrophes, will be used to indicate structurally or functionally equivalent elements.

[0048] Fig. 3B illustrates a detail X’ of the complex device 0 that highlights how the complex device 0 may comprise, as a replacement for the head 4, a piezoelectric element 4’, e.g. a diaphragm at least partly made of a lead titanium zirconate (LTZ) material; such piezoelectric element 4’ is preferably positioned at the extremity of the first section 11 of the flexible tube 1, and is configured to be put in communication with the audio content player R (e.g. by means of an audio jack cable or a USB cable) and generate the sound waves, which are then conveyed through the flexible tube 1 and into the sauna S.

[0049] The disk-shaped piezoelectric element 4’ should advantageously be rigidly secured to the wall of the container 3, near the hole in which the terminal part of the first section 11 of the flexible tube 1 is to be inserted.

[0050] In addition to generating sound waves, the piezoelectric element 4’ also performs the function of protecting the audio content player R from a hot air flow that may possibly come from within the sauna S.

[0051] Furthermore, the use of the piezoelectric element 4’ also makes it advantageously possible to compensate for the attenuation caused by the diaphragm (if present) along the flexible tube 1, in that it will be sufficient to drive said piezoelectric element 4’ with a more powerful signal. This further improves the private audio listening experience inside the sauna S.

[0052] In this way, it is possible to avoid using loudspeakers positioned outside the sauna S.

[0053] In combination with the above, the complex device 0 preferably comprises also a cooling element (e.g. a Peltier cell, a heat sink, a fan, or the like) coupled to the terminal part of the first section 11 of the flexible tube 1. This will prevent the piezoelectric element from receiving too much heat and deteriorating too early, and, most importantly, will keep the temperature of the piezoelectric element 4’ substantially constant, resulting in a constant frequency response and, advantageously, less distortion. Thus, the private audio listening experience within the sauna S can be further improved. In this way, it is possible to avoid using loudspeakers positioned outside the sauna S.

[0054] Some of the possible variants of the invention have been described above, but it will be clear to those skilled in the art that other embodiments may also be implemented in practice, wherein several elements may be easily replaced with other technically equivalent elements. The present invention is not, therefore, limited to the above-described illustrative examples, but may be subject to various modifications, improvements, or replacements of equivalent parts and elements without however departing from the basic inventive idea, as specified in the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Complex device (0) for listening to an audio content in a high-temperature environment (S), i.e. a sauna, which is incompatible with the operation of electronic devices, characterized in that it comprises- a flexible tube (1), which comprises a first section (11) and a pair of second sections (12), wherein each one of said second sections (12) is so shaped that it can be coupled with an ear of a person staying inside said high-temperature environment (S), and- a container (3) shaped to contain an audio content player (R), wherein said container (3) can be positioned outside said high-temperature environment (S), and wherein said container (3) is coupled to a terminal portion of said first section (11) and is configured to convey towards said pair of second sections (12) of the flexible tube (1) sound waves generated by the reproduction of said audio content by said audio content player (R).

2. Complex device (0) according to claim 1, comprising, for each one of said terminal portions of said second sections (12), an earpiece (2) that may also be thermally decoupled from said terminal portions of the second sections (12) by means of a cylindrical gasket made of thermally insulating material, so as to prevent the heat accumulated by said flexible tube (1) from being transferred to the user’s ear.

3. Complex device (0) according to claim 1, comprising adjustment means configured to vary a diameter of the first section (11) of the flexible tube (1).

4. Complex device (0) according to claim 1, wherein the first section (11) of the flexible tube (1) comprises a first diaphragm positioned therein to block any air flows.

5. Complex device (0) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a head (4) positioned at the extremity of the first section (11) of the flexible tube (1), and configured to pick up the sound waves generated by said audio content player (R).

6. Complex device (0) according to claim 5, wherein the head (4) is bell-shaped.

7. Complex device (0) according to claim 5, comprising a piezoelectric element (4’) positioned at the extremity of the first section (11) of the flexible tube (1), wherein said piezoelectric element (4’) is configured to be put in communication with the audio contentplayer (R) and generate said sound waves.

8. Complex device (0) according to any one of claims 5 to 7, comprising a cooling element, which can be positioned outside the sauna, coupled to the terminal portion of the first section (11) of the flexible tube (1).

9. System for listening to an audio content in a high-temperature environment incompatible with the operation of electric devices, comprising- a complex device (0) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, and- a sauna (S), with which said complex device (0) is coupled.

11. Method for listening to an audio content in a high-temperature environment (S) by means of a complex device (0) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the steps of configuring an audio content player (R) to reproduce at least one selected audio content, inserting said audio content player (R) in a container (3) comprised in the complex device (0) and positioned outside said sauna (S), entering the sauna (S) and listening to said at least one selected audio content through a pair of second sections (12) of the flexible tube (1) comprised in said complex device (0), wherein each one of said second sections (12) is shaped in such a way that it can be coupled with a person’s ear.

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