In-Ear Headphone Radial Component Layout for Noise Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional in-ear headphones with active noise control face challenges in balancing sound quality and stability due to size restrictions, where high-quality loudspeakers and microphones are typically large and cannot fit within the ear canal, leading to reduced sound quality and stability issues.
Innovation Solution
The design includes an in-ear headphone device with a loudspeaker and microphone acoustically coupled within a device housing, featuring an acoustic tube that extends into the ear canal, with the loudspeaker and microphone arranged to minimize overlap on a component projection plane, allowing for better component fit and reduced device extension, enhancing noise control and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If high-quality loudspeakers and microphones are used, then sound quality improves, but device size increases and cannot fit within ear canal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional axial arrangement of components to a radial arrangement where the microphone is positioned on the side wall of the acoustic tube rather than along the axis. This dimensional change allows both high-quality components to fit within the limited ear canal space while maintaining their performance characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The microphone is nested within the acoustic tube structure, with its diaphragm positioned on the side wall of the tube. This nesting approach allows the microphone to be integrated into the existing acoustic path without requiring additional space outside the ear canal, enabling high-quality components to coexist in a compact form.
2Stability of the object's composition
If device extension into ear canal is reduced, then wearing stability improves, but component fitting becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
By positioning the microphone on the radial dimension (side wall) rather than the axial dimension, the patent reduces the overall extension into the ear canal while still accommodating both components. This dimensional reconfiguration maintains wearing stability by minimizing protrusion while enabling proper component placement through spatial optimization.
3Reliability
If loudspeaker and microphone are acoustically coupled, then active noise control improves, but component arrangement complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The microphone is nested within the acoustic tube structure, with its diaphragm positioned on the side wall. This nesting creates a natural acoustic coupling path where sound waves from the loudspeaker travel through the acoustic tube and are directly detected by the microphone, enabling effective active noise control through the shared acoustic environment without complex additional coupling mechanisms.
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 arrangement improves active noise control capabilities, reduces the volume of the front acoustic cavity, and decreases the distance from the speaker to the eardrum, resulting in enhanced audio quality and increased wearing stability.
Implementation Method 1
an acoustic tube acoustically coupling said loudspeaker to said ear canal of said user when said device housing is fitted into said outer ear of said user
Implementation Method 2
a loudspeaker... arranged to produce acoustic sounds
Implementation Method 3
a microphone... arranged to detect an in-ear audio signal
Implementation Method 4
active noise control... process said in-ear audio signal to provide a noise cancelling audio signal
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides an in-ear headphone device including a loudspeaker having a loudspeaker diaphragm and a microphone, wherein the device is arranged to provide a noise cancelling audio signal to the loudspeaker. The loudspeaker and microphone are acoustically coupled within a device housing, and the device includes an acoustic tube coupling the device to an ear canal of a user. The acoustic tube is associated with an acoustic tube axis defining a projection plane perpendicular to the acoustic tube axis. The loudspeaker and microphone are arranged such that a projection area of the loudspeaker diaphragm onto the projection plane and a projection area of the microphone onto the projection plane are non-intersecting. The disclosure further provides an in-ear headphone device set including a first and a second in-ear headphone device.