Acoustic Valve for Ear Canal Venting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication devices inserted into the ear canal face challenges with venting sound waves efficiently between a sealed section and the ambient environment, often requiring manual adjustment that is cumbersome and leading to material wear, high acoustic impedance, and inefficient sound wave transmission.
Innovation Solution
A communication device with an electrically actuated acoustic valve that allows for translational or rotational motion of a valve member relative to the conduit housing, enabling adjustable venting by opening, closing, or varying the size of the vent opening, thus reducing mechanical stress and improving longevity and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual adjustment of the vent is implemented by removing the ear tip, then the vent can be adjusted between open and closed positions, but the adjustment process becomes cumbersome and requires removal of the ear tip from the ear canal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical adjustment system with an electrical actuation system. A motor-driven mechanism electronically adjusts the vent opening size without requiring physical manipulation or removal of the ear tip, thereby improving ease of operation while managing device complexity through integration of electrical components.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables automatic vent adjustment through electrical actuators that can be controlled via user interface or automated algorithms, allowing the device to self-adjust the vent opening size without requiring manual intervention or removal of components from the ear canal.
2Volume of moving object
If the venting channel has small cross-sectional size with small inlet and outlet diameters, then the vent structure is compact, but the acoustic mass increases and impedance becomes high, leading to inefficient sound wave transport
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic vent opening mechanism that can variably adjust the vent opening size rather than using a fixed small aperture. This allows the system to optimize the balance between compact size and acoustic performance by dynamically changing the opening dimensions based on operational requirements, thereby maintaining low acoustic impedance while preserving compact form factor.
3Ease of operation
If the acoustic valve uses repeated deformation of the valve element to open and close external sound entrances, then the valve can switch between open and closed states, but material wear occurs affecting functionality and airtight closure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical deformation-based valve system with an electrical actuation system using motors or other electrical actuators. This substitution eliminates repeated mechanical deformation and contact wear, significantly improving valve reliability and longevity while maintaining the ability to switch between open and closed states through electrical control.
4Device complexity
If the acoustic valve provides only binary open/closed states, then the valve structure is simple, but variation of opening size cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic vent opening mechanism that can assume multiple opening sizes between fully closed and fully open states. The motor-driven system allows continuous or discrete adjustment of the vent opening dimension, enabling variable acoustic impedance and optimized sound wave transport for different operational conditions, thereby significantly improving adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The vent opening mechanism serves multiple functions: it can be fully closed for noise isolation, partially opened for controlled venting with optimized acoustic impedance, and fully opened for maximum sound transmission. This multi-functional capability allows a single mechanism to adapt to various listening scenarios and environmental conditions.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A communication device configured for use in a user's ear canal comprises a sealing mechanism (35, 629) configured to acoustically seal a section of the ear canal and a sound conduit (30, 330, 430, 630, 730, 830, 930, 1030, 1130, 1230, 1430, 1530, 1630, 1730) in acoustic communication with a sound source (14, 614). The sound conduit comprises a first opening (30B, 636), a second opening (30C, 637, 737, 937, 1037, 1237, 1537), a conduit housing (33, 632, 732, 832, 932, 1032, 1132, 1232, 1432, 1532, 1632), and a vent opening (36A, 36B, 336, 336A, 336B, 651 - 655, 1051 - 1056, 1151, 1251, 1252). In order to provide a reliable adjustment for the venting of sound waves in between a sealed section of the ear canal and an ambient environment outside the sealed section, an acoustic valve comprising a valve member (39, 339, 339A, 339B, 439, 510A, 510B, 670, 770, 870, 1070, 1270, 1470, 1670, 1770) is moveably coupled with the conduit housing, which moveable coupling is configured to provide a relative motion of the valve member and the conduit housing, such that by said relative motion the acoustic valve is configured to provide for at least one of opening the vent opening, closing the vent opening, and adjusting a size of the vent opening, wherein the communication device further comprises an electrical actuator (45, 645, 1280, 1380, 1480, 1680, 1780) configured to activate said relative motion.