Ear-cuff type earphone

Abstract

An ear-cuff type earphone 1 comprises: a main body portion 11 that grips an auricle of a user when worn; a driver portion 12 that outputs sound; and a stretchable movable portion 13 that is disposed between the main body portion 11 and the driver portion 12. When worn, the stretchable movable portion 13 generates an elastic force directed toward the main body portion 11 and the driver portion 12. When worn, the end part of the driver portion 12 on the side opposite from the stretchable movable portion 13 is in contact with an opening of the external auditory meatus on the front side with respect to the body of the user.

Description

Ear cuff type earphone

[0001] The present invention relates to an ear cuff type earphone.

[0002] An ear cuff type earphone is worn while clamping the user's auricle. It is characterized by excellent design, ease of fitting on the ear, and an open wearing experience (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-97318

[0004] A conventional ear cuff type earphone is fixed by clamping the auricle, particularly in the vicinity of the helix. Therefore, the position of the driver unit that outputs sound varies from person to person, which leads to problems such as individual differences in sound balance and volume, and sound leakage.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to automatically adjust the position of the driver unit of the ear cuff type earphone so that the driver unit is located near the user's external acoustic opening.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, an ear cuff type earphone according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a main body portion that holds the user's auricle when worn; a driver portion that outputs sound; and a telescopic movable portion disposed between the main body portion and the driver portion. The telescopic movable portion generates elastic force facing the main body portion and the driver portion during wearing. When the earphone is worn, the end of the driver portion opposite to the telescopic movable portion is in contact with the external acoustic opening on the anterior side relative to the user's body.

[0007] It should be noted that any combination of the above components, and conversions of the expressions of the present invention among methods, apparatuses, systems, recording media, computer programs, and the like are also effective as aspects of the present invention.

[0008] According to the present invention, the position of the driver portion of the ear cuff type earphone can be automatically adjusted so as to be positioned near the user's external acoustic opening.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the ear cuff type earphone according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the ear cuff type earphone of FIG. 1 when worn on a user's ear. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of FIG. 2.

[0010] The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, based on preferred embodiments. In embodiments and modifications, the same or equivalent components and parts will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted as appropriate. In addition, the dimensions of parts in each drawing will be enlarged or reduced as appropriate for ease of understanding. Furthermore, some elements that are not important for explaining the embodiments will be omitted in each drawing. In addition, terms including ordinal numbers such as "first," "second," etc., are used to describe various components, but these terms are used only to distinguish one component from other components, and the components are not limited by these terms.

[0011] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an ear cuff-type earphone 1 according to an embodiment. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the ear cuff-type earphone 1 when worn on the user's ear. The ear cuff-type earphone 1 comprises a main body 11, a driver 12, and an extendable / retractable movable part 13.

[0012] The main unit 11 grips the user's auricle when worn. The main unit 11 gripping the auricle while the earphone is worn has the advantage of preventing the earphone from falling out, even while running. Furthermore, the main unit 11 also offers aesthetic advantages, such as resembling earrings or other accessories.

[0013] The driver unit 12 outputs sound. The driver unit 12 may be any suitable driver, such as a dynamic type, balanced armature type, condenser type, or bone conduction type. When worn, the end of the driver unit 12 opposite to the extendable / movable part 13 contacts the front ear canal opening relative to the user's body.

[0014] The telescopic movable part 13 is positioned between the main body 11 and the driver part 12, and generates an elastic force directed toward the main body 11 and the driver part 12 when installed. In this example, the telescopic movable part 13 includes a core 13a and a spring 13b. The telescopic movable part 13 is expandable and contractible in the longitudinal direction. When the telescopic movable part 13 is expanded or contracted in the longitudinal direction, it attempts to return to its natural length due to the restoring force from the spring 13b. That is, the telescopic movable part 13 generates an elastic force when expanded or contracted in the longitudinal direction. When the telescopic movable part 13 is retracted in the longitudinal direction, a portion of the spring 13b is housed in the main body 11 or the driver part 12.

[0015] Figure 3 is an enlarged view of Figure 2. When the retractable movable part 13 is fitted to the user's ear with the spring 13b compressed, it generates an elastic force F1 directed toward the main body 11 (to the right in the figure) and an elastic force F2 directed toward the driver part 12 (to the left in the figure). The main body 11, the driver part 12, and the retractable movable part 13 together form the ear cuff type earphone 1. The main body 11 grips the user's auricle and therefore receives a reaction force -F1 (to the left in the figure) from the auricle. The end of the driver part 12 opposite to the retractable movable part 13 is in contact with the user's external auditory canal opening (the external auditory canal opening on the front side relative to the user's body) and therefore receives a reaction force -F2 (to the right in the figure) from the external auditory canal opening. From the force equilibrium condition, |F1| = |F2|.

[0016] In this way, the elastic force generated by the expandable and contractible part 13 balances the reaction force from the user's body (pinna and external auditory canal opening), fixing the driver part 12 near the user's external auditory canal opening. In other words, according to this embodiment, even though the shape and size of the ear differ from person to person, the position of the driver part 12 is automatically adjusted so that it is near the user's external auditory canal opening.

[0017] In this embodiment, the retractable movable part 13 includes a spring 13b, but is not limited to this. Any suitable material that generates a force directed toward the main body 11 and the driver part 12 when attached may be used. For example, in addition to a spring, any suitable component made of a material that generates elastic force, such as rubber or an air cushion, may be used for the retractable movable part 13. Alternatively, the retractable movable part 13 itself may be made of an elastic body that generates elastic force, such as a spring or rubber. For example, the retractable movable part 13 itself may be made of an inelastic body, such as an air cushion, which does not generate elastic force itself but generates elastic force due to air pressure or the like.

[0018] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the driver unit 12 may include an elastic member 14 that contacts the back of the user's tragus. The elastic member 14 may be made of any suitable elastic material such as rubber, urethane, silicone, or sponge. When the driver unit 12 is equipped with an elastic member 14, the elastic member 14 presses against the back of the user's tragus when the ear cuff-type earphone 1 is worn. In response, the elastic member 14 receives a reaction force from the tragus. Therefore, the driver unit 12 receives a force from the tragus through the elastic member 14 in a direction toward the user's skull. As a result, the driver unit 12 is more firmly fixed near the opening of the user's external auditory canal.

[0019] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the main body 11 may be provided with a rotating shaft 15. The axis of rotation of the rotating shaft 15 is a straight line along a direction that includes at least the direction facing the user's skull. In this case, the extendable / retractable part 13 is capable of circular motion around the rotating shaft 15. The ability of the extendable / retractable part 13 to perform circular motion around the rotating shaft 15 improves the degree of freedom of movement of the extendable / retractable part 13. As a result, the position of the driver part 12 is automatically adjusted more accurately to the vicinity of the user's external ear canal opening. Note that the rotating shaft 15 may also be provided on the driver part 12.

[0020] The retractable movable part 13 may be detachable from the main body 11 and the driver part 12. In this case, the user can select and replace a more appropriate retractable movable part 13 according to the shape and size of the user's ear or the user's preference. In this case, various types of retractable movable parts 13 with different shapes, sizes, or elastic strengths can be provided.

[0021] In the above description, we stated that one of the advantages of the ear cuff-type earphone according to this embodiment is that the position of the driver can be automatically adjusted so that it is near the opening of the user's ear canal. Furthermore, the ear cuff-type earphone of this disclosure has the advantage of reducing the force required to grip the user's auricle compared to conventional ear cuff-type earphones, thereby reducing pain and discomfort for the user.

[0022] The present invention has been described above based on embodiments. The embodiments are illustrative, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in combinations of their components and processing processes, and that such modifications also fall within the scope of the present invention.

[0023] This invention relates to an ear cuff-type earphone.

[0024] 1...Ear cuff type earphone, 11...Main body, 12...Driver part, 13...Extendable movable part, 13a...Core, 13b...Spring, 14...Elastic member, 15...Rotating shaft part.

Claims

1. An ear cuff-type earphone comprising: a main body that grips the user's auricle when worn; a driver unit that outputs sound; and an extendable / retractable movable part positioned between the main body and the driver unit, wherein the extendable / retractable movable part generates an elastic force directed toward the main body and the driver unit when worn, and the end of the driver unit opposite to the extendable / retractable movable part contacts the front ear canal opening relative to the user's body when worn.

2. The ear cuff-type earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the retractable movable part is made of an inelastic material.

3. The ear cuff type earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the driver unit includes an elastic member that contacts the back of the user's tragus.

4. The ear cuff-type earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the extendable and retractable part is capable of circular motion with a straight line along a direction that includes at least the direction facing the user's skull as its axis of rotation.

5. The ear cuff-type earphone according to claim 1, characterized in that the extendable and retractable part is detachable from the main body and the driver part.

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