Earphone Housing Speaker Microphone Alignment
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing inner-ear type noise-canceling headphone sets face challenges in efficiently picking up ambient sounds due to the protrusion of the housing, which allows window noises to be picked up, and the arrangement of the microphone and speaker leads to poor fitability and easy displacement during user movements.
Innovation Solution
The design features a housing body with a speaker at one plane section and a microphone at a perpendicular section, with a sound pick-up hole positioned to communicate with the inner space of the housing, allowing efficient ambient sound pickup while minimizing wind noise interference, and an egg-shaped housing that fits snugly into the ear canal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the housing is made large to accommodate the speaker and microphone, then the components can be properly installed, but the housing protrudes from the user's ear causing window noises to be picked up
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the microphone from the front surface to the rear surface of the housing, utilizing the third dimension (depth) to resolve the spatial conflict. This allows the housing to maintain a compact profile while properly accommodating both the speaker and microphone without protrusion, thereby eliminating window noise pickup while preserving component functionality.
2Device complexity
If the microphone is positioned far from the ear piece to allow speaker installation, then the speaker can be installed, but the center of gravity shifts causing poor fitability and easy displacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the microphone along the depth axis of the housing (from front to rear), utilizing the third dimension to maintain optimal spacing for speaker installation while keeping the center of gravity anchored at the ear piece location. This preserves both component functionality and ergonomic fitability during user movements.
3Measurement precision
If sound pick-up holes are provided on the housing, then ambient sounds can be picked up, but wind noises are also picked up reducing sound quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the microphone from the front housing surface and relocates it to the rear surface, separating the sound pick-up function from the wind-exposed areas. This allows ambient sound pickup to continue while eliminating the harmful effect of wind noise entering through front-facing openings.
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
This configuration enhances fitability and reduces wind noise effects, providing an effective noise-canceling experience by aligning the speaker and microphone with the ear's anatomy and positioning the sound pick-up opening to capture sounds similar to those heard by the user, resulting in improved sound quality and reduced ambient noise interference.
Implementation Method 1
a speaker and a microphone aligned between the first and second plane sections, the speaker being located at the first plane section side
Implementation Method 2
a microphone installed in a headphone housing to pick up ambient sounds
Implementation Method 3
signals are generated as having the reverse phase of the ambient sounds and combined with audio signals to be listened, and output to user's ears via speakers
Data Source
AI summary
A headphone set is equipped with left- and right-ear headphone units. Each unit includes a housing body having a first plane section and a second plane section that faces the first section, the sections being almost perpendicular to a cross section of a cavum conchae of a user's ear when the housing body is fit in the cavum conchae, a speaker and a microphone aligned between the sections, the speaker being located at the first section side, the microphone being located at the second section side. A sound output section is provided at the first section, to give off sounds output by the speaker to an outer space of the housing body. A sound pick-up hole is provided at the second section, through which the outer space communicates with an inner space of the housing body created between a sound pick-up section of the microphone and the second section.