Non-occluding Ear Canal Speaker with Spring Anchor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional headsets that block the ear canal hinder the ability to hear ambient sounds, which is a safety concern and limits their use in activities requiring awareness of surroundings, while also being bulkier than the audio devices they accompany.
Innovation Solution
A compact audio speaker assembly that fits into the ear canal without occluding it, using a ribbon or wire-like spring structure to anchor the speaker to the concha portion of the outer ear, allowing ambient sounds to bypass the speaker and enabling stereo listening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ear canal is occluded by the headset to improve audio isolation and listening quality, then ambient sound perception is blocked, reducing safety and situational awareness
Solution Approach 1:
The ear canal space is segmented into two functional zones: an upper occluding portion containing the speaker for audio isolation, and a lower non-occluding portion that remains open for ambient sound passage. This segmentation allows simultaneous achievement of audio listening quality and ambient awareness.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the ear canal are assigned different acoustic properties: the upper region near the speaker has occluding characteristics for audio isolation, while the lower region maintains open characteristics for ambient sound transmission. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between audio quality and ambient awareness.
2Reliability
If conventional headsets are designed to fit over the ear or in the ear canal, then audio isolation is improved, but the device size and weight increase, limiting portability
Solution Approach 1:
The heavy isolation function is extracted from the traditional headset structure and replaced by the natural anatomy of the ear canal itself. The speaker only needs to occupy a small portion of the ear canal, leveraging the ear's existing structure for isolation rather than requiring a bulky headset to provide it.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of creating a bulky artificial structure to achieve isolation, the design copies and utilizes the natural ear canal geometry and acoustic properties. The speaker is shaped to fit within the existing ear canal contours, minimizing added weight while maintaining isolation effectiveness.
3Volume of moving object
If the headset is made smaller to improve portability, then storage and portability are enhanced, but audio isolation and sound quality may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The isolation mechanism transitions from a three-dimensional bulky structure to a two-dimensional surface placement along the ear canal wall. The speaker is positioned as a thin, flat element that occupies minimal volume while effectively utilizing the ear canal's natural acoustic sealing properties.
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
Enables safe and effective listening to audio sources while maintaining awareness of ambient sounds, preserving directional perception, and allowing normal conversation levels without the need for loud speaking, all while being small enough to accompany the smallest audio devices without increasing their size significantly.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible spring member extending into the concha portion of an outer ear and having a distal end that pushes against the concha to force the earpiece into the ear canal
Implementation Method 2
an earpiece that delivers an audio source to a listener
Data Source
AI summary
A compact audio speaker assembly that fits into the ear canal without occluding the ear canal, thus allowing ambient sounds to be heard along with the audio source. The ear speaker is secured in the ear canal by a ribbon or wire like spring structure anchoring the speaker to the concha portion of the outer ear and typically pushing the speaker up against the top side of the ear canal, leaving a space for external sounds to bypass the speaker to the eardrum. The speaker may further include a connecting signal cable that passes over the ear and behind the ear to provide additional support for the speaker and strain relief for the signal cable. One embodiment may include a shell over the speaker connected to the wire like spring anchor and may include an ear wax screen. Two speakers may be configured for stereo listening.