Deformable Earphone Cover With Cavity-Based Ear Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wired earphones often detach from the ear during exercise and can cause damage due to the fragile contact area of the cavitas conchae and skull, leading to inconvenience and potential harm.
Innovation Solution
An earphone cover with a fixing portion designed to snap onto multiple points of the ear, including the tragus and antitragus, featuring a deformable structure with a cavity to accommodate ear shape variation and reduce pressure points, ensuring secure fit and sound leakage prevention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional wired earphone is used, then the earphone can be inserted into the ear, but it is easily detached during exercise and causes inconvenience
Solution Approach 1:
The earphone cover is divided into multiple functional parts: a fixing portion with first and second end portions that snap onto different parts of the ear, and a sleeve portion that accommodates the earphone. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function independently, ensuring secure retention while maintaining ease of use.
Solution Approach 2:
The sleeve portion is inserted into the fixing portion, forming a nested structure. The earphone is then inserted into the sleeve portion, creating a multi-layered nested configuration. This nested design ensures the earphone is securely held while allowing easy insertion and removal.
2Ease of operation
If the earphone contact area is reduced to minimize intrusion, then comfort is improved, but the earphone becomes easier to detach
Solution Approach 1:
The fixing portion is designed with asymmetric geometry, where the first end portion has a different configuration than the second end portion. This asymmetry allows the cover to snap onto the ear at multiple points with different contact areas, distributing pressure evenly and maintaining comfort while ensuring secure retention.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the fixing portion are designed with different local qualities: the first end portion is configured to snap onto one part of the ear while the second end portion snaps onto another part. This local differentiation allows optimized contact at each location, balancing comfort and retention.
3Strength
If the earphone cover is made rigid to prevent deformation, then structural integrity is improved, but it causes pressure points on the fragile cavitas conchae area
Solution Approach 1:
The material properties of the earphone cover are changed to include elastic characteristics. The fixing portion is designed to be deformable, allowing it to adapt to the ear's shape and distribute pressure evenly. This parameter change from rigid to elastic maintains structural integrity while eliminating harmful pressure points.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic fixing portion is designed to deform before contact with the ear, allowing it to conform to the ear's contours. This beforehand cushioning effect prevents direct rigid contact with the fragile cavitas conchae area, distributing force evenly and preventing pressure points before they can cause damage.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the earphone cover is made deformable to accommodate ear shape, then comfort and fit are improved, but manufacturing precision becomes more difficult to control
Solution Approach 1:
The material parameters of the fixing portion are specifically selected to provide controlled deformability. By changing the material properties to be elastic rather than rigid, the cover can accommodate ear shape variations while maintaining predictable deformation behavior that can be controlled during manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixing portion is designed as a flexible elastic structure that can deform to accommodate different ear shapes. This flexible shell design allows the cover to adapt to various anatomical variations while maintaining sufficient structural integrity for secure retention, with deformation controlled by the material properties and geometric design.
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 earphone cover provides a stable, secure fit that prevents detachment and reduces sound leakage, protecting the ear from pressure points while maintaining comfort and usability.
Implementation Method 1
the fixing portion is deformed to discharge the gas in the cavity from the sleeve portion
Implementation Method 2
the fixing portion is deformed to discharge the gas in the cavity from the sleeve portion
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
The present invention relates to an earphone cover (50) with an earphone (1), wherein the earphone cover (50) is used as a sleeve for the earphone (1); comprises a sleeve portion (51) via which the earphone cover (50) is set on the ear-phone (1); and comprises a fixing portion (52), which fixing portion (52) encloses and is penetrated by the sleeve portion (51), wherein the fixing portion (52) is provided with a hollow cavity (528), characterized in that the fixing portion (52) comprises a front side (523) and a rear side (524) opposite to the front side (523), the sleeve portion (51) having an aperture on the front side (523) that is larger than the maximum diameter of the body of a front case (20) of the ear-phone (1), such that a gap (527) is formed between the earphone cover (50) and the earphone (1) when the earphone cover (50) is set on the earphone (1); and when the fixing portion (52) is built into a human ear (100), the fixing portion (52) is deformed to discharge the gas in the cavity (528) through the gap (527).