Audio Device With Compliant Body and Anterior Sound Opening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wireless headsets with earbuds can obstruct the ear canal, preventing users from hearing environmental sounds and social cues, and may send an unintended signal of unavailability for interactions.
Innovation Solution
An audio device design that positions the sound-emitting opening anteriorly to the tragus of the ear, using a compliant body to contact multiple points on the outer ear and head, ensuring the device remains in place without blocking the ear canal, with features like out-of-plane curvature and pivoting mechanisms to accommodate different head shapes and sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If earbuds are placed into the ear canal opening, then sound delivery to the ear is effective, but the user cannot hear environmental sounds and social speech
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the sound delivery function from the ear canal interior and relocates it to the outer ear region. The audio device is positioned in the concha or outer ear area, with the sound-emitting opening directed toward the ear canal opening from the exterior, thereby eliminating the need to insert earbuds into the ear canal while still delivering sound effectively to the user.
2Illumination intensity
If earbuds are placed into the ear canal opening, then sound delivery is achieved, but the user sends a social cue of unavailability
Solution Approach 1:
The invention removes the earbud from the ear canal insertion position and relocates it to the outer ear area. This extraction allows the ear canal opening to remain visible and accessible, enabling users to engage in natural social interactions without the implicit unavailability signal that earbuds in the ear canal convey.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the body contacts the ear at multiple separate spaced contact locations, then the device remains stable on the ear, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The body is configured with a curved surface that conforms to the natural curvature of the outer ear and concha region. This curvature allows the body to contact the ear at multiple separate spaced locations simultaneously, distributing contact points along the curved surface to achieve stable positioning without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms or multiple discrete components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device delivers sound close to the ear canal without obstruction, maintaining stability and allowing users to remain aware of their surroundings while appearing available for social interactions.
Implementation Method 1
The body may be compliant at the body portions that define each of the three contact locations
Implementation Method 2
One or both of the two separate spaced contact locations may be defined by a compliant cushion member that is configured to contact the ear root proximate the upper portion of the helix
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4A~4B
Figure 4C
AI summary
An audio device with a body configured to be worn on or abutting an outer ear of a user, wherein the body is configured to contact at least one of the outer ear and the portion of the head that abuts the outer ear, at two separate spaced contact locations, and wherein the body is compliant at a body portion that defines one of the contact locations. The device also has an acoustic module carried by the body and configured to locate a sound-emitting opening anteriorly of and proximate the user's ear canal opening when the body is worn on or abutting the ear of the user.