Earphone Sound Guide Channels for Pressure Equalization
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Solution Overview
Problem
In-ear and semi-in-ear earphones suffer from sound leakage and inconsistent acoustic performance due to varying ear shapes and sizes, affecting user experience and noise cancellation stability.
Innovation Solution
The earphone design includes a housing with a speaker assembly and sound guide channels that connect the ear canal environment to the outside, reducing pressure differences and stabilizing sound pressure inside the ear canal, using through holes, grooves, or conduits to ensure consistent air leakage and improved acoustic performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If semi-in-ear earphones are used with a thin housing, then convenience and good sound quality are provided, but sound leaks from the earphone and does not reach the ear canal, resulting in inconsistent acoustic performance between users
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into multiple functional cavities (first cavity, second cavity, third cavity) separated by partition walls, with dedicated sound guide channels connecting these cavities to the ear canal. This segmentation allows independent optimization of sound transmission paths and pressure equalization, ensuring consistent acoustic performance while maintaining the thin housing design for user convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
Sound guide channels are introduced as intermediary structures that mediate between the speaker assembly and the ear canal. These channels include first sound guide channels connecting the first cavity to the ear canal, and second sound guide channels connecting the second cavity to the ear canal, ensuring stable sound transmission regardless of ear canal variations among users.
2Reliability
If sound guide channels are added to connect ear canal environment to outside, then sound pressure is stabilized and acoustic performance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple sound guide channels are merged into a integrated housing structure where the first and second sound guide channels are formed within the same housing body. The partition walls and cavities are combined into a unified structure that simultaneously achieves sound isolation, sound guidance, and pressure equalization functions, reducing overall structural complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical support, creates sound-isolated cavities, forms sound guide channels, and enables pressure equalization. The partition walls not only separate cavities but also serve as structural support elements, reducing the need for additional components.
3Ease of operation
If the earphone is not sealed in the ear canal, then comfort is improved, but sound leaks and noise cancellation stability is affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses pneumatic principles by creating sealed cavities (first, second, and third cavities) within the housing that are connected to the ear canal through controlled sound guide channels. This pneumatic isolation allows the earphone to maintain acoustic sealing for noise cancellation while the third cavity provides pressure equalization to maintain comfort during extended wear.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the earphone housing have different sealing characteristics: the first cavity region provides acoustic sealing for noise cancellation, while the third cavity region provides pressure equalization. The partition walls create local quality differences that allow simultaneous achievement of noise cancellation stability and comfort.
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 design stabilizes sound pressure and improves acoustic performance by ensuring consistent air leakage, enhancing user experience and noise cancellation stability across different ear shapes and sizes.
Implementation Method 1
an environment inside the ear canal is connected to an environment outside the ear canal by using the sound guide channel disposed in the housing, so that sound pressure inside the ear canal can be exposed or exhausted to a surrounding environment outside the earphone. This reduces pressure inside the ear canal
Data Source
AI summary
An earphone and a mobile terminal is provided, in which the earphone includes a housing and a speaker assembly. The housing internally includes a front cavity and a rear cavity that are separated by the speaker assembly. The front cavity is located on a side that is of the speaker assembly and that is a sound output direction, and the rear cavity is located on an opposite side of the sound output direction of the speaker assembly. One or more sound guide channels are disposed in the housing, each sound guide channel is disposed in a sidewall of the housing, and each sound guide channel is configured to: when the earphone is normally worn, connect air inside an ear canal of a user to air outside the ear canal without connecting air in the front cavity to air in the rear cavity.